ARGO directed by Ben Affleck (USA, 2012)
Ever since Fargo, I take with a pinch of salt any film that opens with the assurance that what we are about to see is “based on a true story”.
Ironically, the Coen brothers’ tale of a hapless husband’s plan to have his own wife kidnapped looks far more plausible that the events of the so-called Canadian Caper in Argo.
The story surrounds the bizarre plan to free six US embassy staff held as hostages in Iran. The CIA’s “best bad idea” is to pass them off as Canadian filmmakers looking for movie locations; a scam which necessitates creating a sham Sci-Fi movie project complete with a bogus PR campaign and a fake film studio.
When you learn that all this really happened – well, most of it – the movie becomes much more intriguing. It backs up the old adage/cliché that the truth is stranger than fiction. Continue reading
