Argo - the film that is about the film that wasn't!

Rare's the phone call that I've received in past years from my son, Colin, in which he'd been SO excited about a film that he almost crowed into the phone receiver about a film.

Tonight he made just such a phone call. I was so surprised that I asked him to write about it for this blog.

Here's what Colin Mansfield wrote:
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"For those who know nothing of the movie, here is the description from IMDB:

"In 1979, the American embassy in Iran was invaded by Iranian revolutionaries and several Americans are taken hostage. However, six manage to escape to the official residence of the Canadian Ambassador and the CIA is eventually ordered to get them out of the country. With few options, exfiltration expert Tony Mendez devises a daring plan: to create a phony Canadian film project looking to shoot in Iran and smuggle the Americans out as its production crew. With the help of some trusted Hollywood contacts, Mendez creates the ruse and proceeds to Iran as its associate producer. However, time is running out with the Iranian security forces closing in on the truth while both his charges and the White House have grave doubts about the operation themselves. "

Argo made me proud to be an American Citizen. While I don't know how much of the story was dramatized, what I do know is that it happened: we sent in CIA to recover American citizens because they needed saving. That alone gets me fired up.

Argo was directed by Ben Afleck, and he plays the main character/protagonist role as well. His character is rich and deep, and he really is the expert-turned-unlikely-hero. In fact, every character in this movie rocked. It goes from deep, dark scenes of the Iranian hostages and escaped Americans to bright Hollywood life in America, and in any other film this probably wouldn't work. But Argo is largely character driven, and that really is what connects the dots. One scene in particular stood out to me. A script is written for the fictional movie which is the cover for the CIA mission to extract the six Americans that escaped from the embassy. The scenes takes place as the script is being read, and without ruining anything, it does a fantastic job of blending the plot of the movie with reality.

Argo is a must-see film, and I will be sorely disappointed if it is not nominated for Best Picture of the year at the Oscars.""

Thanks, Col.
Headed to see Argo.
How 'bout you?
Den

Comments

[Jem]

How interesting that a film where Americans on foreign soil were PROTECTED by our government should come so recently after the events in Libya.p