Briar Black / 29 May 2013 / Categories: Movie and TV Shows, Movie

Argo

This dramatization is adapted from the book The Master of Disguise by Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operative Tony Mendez, and Joshuah Bearman's 2007 Wired article The Great Escape about the "Canadian Caper", in which Mendez led the rescue of six U.S. diplomats from Tehran, Iran, during the 1979 Iran hostage crisis.

The film stars Affleck as Mendez with Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin, and John Goodman in supporting roles, and was released in North America to critical and commercial success on October 12, 2012. The film was produced by Grant Heslov, Ben Affleck, and George Clooney. The story of this rescue was also told in the 1981 television movie Escape from Iran: The Canadian Caper, directed by Lamont Johnson.

THE TITLE PUT ME OFF

This is a clever film. I delayed seeing it. The truth the title did put me off, now the very funny play on Argo in the movie, becoming Argo Fuck yourself has become a sort of catch phrase in our house.

The film did leave a lasting impression. I am usually turned off by this kind of retelling of political events particularly when it is a US movie recounting their own side of the story. Not so in this case. I think the way this film was crafted was full of integrity.

I thoroughly enjoyed it and went in not really knowing what to expect. It tells the story of an American CIA operative travelling to Iran to bring home 7 Americans, having escaped the US embassy in Tehran during the hostage crisis.

Based on a true story, the cover for the precarious mission is the making of fake movie named Argo. John Goodman and Alan Arkin play the movie mogul/producer types to a tee and their characters really give this film an edge.

I think the praise Ben Affleck received for this, not his directorial debut but the first widely released, (he directed Gone baby Gone starring Morgan Freeman and Ed Harris in 2007) was well deserved. It has been a long time since I was so affected by the last 20 minutes of a film I can tell you. The final scenes take you to a place you hope to never go, throw you around and then overwhelm you with all the warmth and raw emotion you go to the cinema to experience (even though I watched it on DVD). I cannot think of anyone who wouldn't enjoy this classic, brilliant piece of film making.