Argo

This line as delivered by Alan Arkin is the best in the whole show because it summarizes the entire plot so well and so humorously: "Okay, you got six people hiding out in a town of what, four million people, all of whom chant 'death to America' all the livelong day. You want to set up a movie in a week. You want to lie to Hollywood, a town where everybody lies for a living. Then you're gonna sneak 007 over here into a country that wants CIA blood on their breakfast cereal and you're gonna walk the Brady Bunch out of the most watched city in the world." After the successful movie "The Town", which received an Oscar nomination, I could tell that Ben Affleck had genuine talent as a director. "Argo" was my first film with him as director and I am very impressed. Affleck is known for his acting and of course he previously won an Oscar for screenwriting but now I feel that his career has many new and exciting possibilities now that he is an Oscar-winning producer as well. This was the best reviewed film from 2012. The filmmakers did a great job in turning the "Canadian Caper" or "The Hollywood Option" into an even more thrilling story. The sense of realism reminds me a lot of the work of Paul Greengrass or Tony Scott. Without the swearing, "Argo" would have been a movie that everyone should see.

I love how Warner Brothers used their 1970's logo because that did wonders in establishing the environment of the film. There are even specks and film scratches during the opening logos and that really sets the movie in 1979. The opening sequence where the US embassy is stormed was also amazing in terms of its authenticity. The combination of HD, 35mm and Super 8 shots creates even more realism. The Super 8 handheld shots in particular look completely authentic but they were created for this film. The soldiers defending the US embassy by the way are performed by veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan. The plot of "Argo" can be likened to "Superman" and "Cool Runnings" in terms of its structure because "Argo" feels like three films combined into one. There are the Iranian scenes, the CIA scenes and the Hollywood scenes. All three feel quite distinct. Another element of the film that I enjoy is that plot points were not overly dramatized. For example, Tony gets an idea while watching "Battle for the Planet of the Apes" but the music and Affleck's performance is more passive than the average director would have it be. Tony feels the idea is a long shot, hence the subdued moment when the idea comes to him. "Argo" is a very serious movie until the Hollywood scenes and thanks to the music, we get a great contrast. As smiles come to our faces, we nevertheless ask ourselves "Is this the best plan?" "Argo" starts to resemble a generic spy movie as opposed to the serious thriller genre that was established at the start. Hollywood is portrayed as phony and cheesy so as to contrast the Iranian crisis and nowhere is this more obvious than during the read-through of the script for "Argo". The press event in Hollywood is intercut visually and audibly with intense moments on the other side of the world and it seems almost impossible to believe that these two events are related. I like the great shot that moves from the script reading to the kitchen where the news covering the hostage crisis is playing on a TV. It truly seems impossible for Tony's plan to work because six people's lives depend on a cheezy "Star Wars" ripoff. The irony in "Argo" is what makes it entertaining. Another great moment of irony is the sweatshops that are reassembling the shredded documents. The mission to Iran itself becomes symbolic of a movie. The diplomats may be posing as a director, screenwriter, etc. but they pretending to be something they are not and are like actors. Tony is the actual "director" making sure that the mission goes right. The setting is Tehran and the audience are the Iranians & Hollywood press, more particularly the militia at the airport. With the article in "Variety", the "show" has begun because there is an "audience" of watching Hollywood reporters who have been fooled. Once Tony arrives in Tehran, the suspense is clearly felt thanks to all realism and irony that has been established. I love the shot in Istanbul where the painting of Khomeini appears to be watching Tony. After the "film crew" visits the bazaar, it seems unlikely that they can get out of the country. To make matters worse, the CIA aborts the mission. Even though these two events did not happen in real life, it is important story-wise so that the multiple hurdles at the airport can feel even more dangerous. The CIA has no choice but to get Tony the reservations on the Swiss flight at the last minute and Studio Six (named in honor of the six diplomats by the way) has to be notified that the mission is back on. At the same time, Iran has learned the truth and it is a race as they try to catch up to the "Canadian film crew". I love the moment when the Iranian guards are looking at the concept art as Tony and the diplomats leave to board their plane. Another piece of detail I like is that in the Variety magazine, there is a photo from "Rocky II" and an ad for "Kramer vs. Kramer". Fun fact: "Kramer vs. Kramer" won Best Picture in 1980 and "Argo" won Best Picture in 2013. In real life, the escape was not as dramatic as we see in the film but there were a few close calls. For the sake of moviemaking, it was important that the climax be as intense as it was. There is a homage to "Raiders of the Lost Ark" as the storyboards and script are filed in the basement of the CIA. Coincidentally, in real life, "Raiders" was being filmed during Tony's mission. I love the concluding shots of the film where we see the science fiction action figures and how Tony has saved a drawing from the unmade movie "Argo" to put with them.

While it is true that Canada did not deserve all the credit for the real life mission, it still deserves a great deal of it. Ambassador Ken Taylor and others took the diplomats in with permission from Prime Minister Joe Clark and Secretary of External Affairs Flora MacDonald in Ottawa. The Canadian government also secretly issued actual Canadian passports for the Americans which is against its own laws. Only the visas inside were fake. In the movie, Taylor took in the diplomats when no one else would. The reason why Canada was given all the credit back in 1980 was to protect those Americans still being held hostage in Iran. It truly is the "Canadian Caper". The text at the end of the movie was changed because when "Argo" was shown at TIFF, it seemed to imply that Taylor did not deserve any of the credit he got. Affleck therefore altered it and rightly so. The Blu-ray special features also make mention of Canada's involvment and many of the real life "houseguests" convey their gratitude to Canada. I like a few fun facts concerning the real life story. Studio Six was legitimate enough that scripts were being submitted for consideration including some from Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. The real life John Chambers won the first ever Oscar awarded to a makeup artist for his work on "Planet of the Apes". He also worked on TV shows like "Mission: Impossible" and "Star Trek". Because of his work on this escape plan and other spy jobs, Chambers was also awarded the highest civilian award from the CIA. The photos during the end credits prove just how much attention to detail the film was given. I had to guess many times which photos were period. Similarly, my parents thought the opening sequence was partly news footage where in fact, it was all filmed for this movie under director Ben Affleck. My parents remember well this crisis so that is a testament to Affleck's talent. Acting-wise, he is still moderate. I like the casting of well-known Hollywood actors John Goodman and Alan Arkin to play Hollywood filmmakers. Arkin recieved an Oscar nomination for this role and I wish I had paid more attention to his performance when I first saw "Argo". Upon multiple viewings, Arkin's brief role was very well done. Both Goodman & Arkin played their characters very well and even though Affleck is a famous Hollywood actor himself, his costume and performance are enough separate him from the other two actors. Goodman has been in back-to-back Best Picture films because he was in "The Artist" the year before. Canadian actor Victor Garber was ideal as Taylor and I am familiar with Tate Donovan, who played American diplomat Bob Anders, because he was the voice of Hercules on the 1997 Disney film. I missed recognizing Richard Kind in this film the first time and he did well also.

I would have rated this movie higher had it not been for the swearing. Most of it was unnecessary. By using so much foul language, you are preventing younger audiences from enjoying this entertaining story. You also affect younger audience members negatively who might see this film regardless of the rating. I applaud Affleck as a director and George Clooney as a now Oscar-winning producer because "Argo" felt so real. I love the irony of this movie not only sharing a title with another film that never was made in 1980 but telling the story of its "production". What's even more interesting is that this "fake movie" won Best Picture over 30 years after the true story. Every award show telecast at the start of 2013 felt the same. When Affleck won for Best Director at the Golden Globes, it was the biggest surprise of the night until the film itself won Best Dramatic Picture. Then the cast won Best Ensemble at the SAG Awards even though it had won nothing else that night. Finally, when it came time to announce the winner at the Academy Awards for Best Picture, "Argo" had won Oscars for editing and adapted screenplay but nothing else. "Life of Pi" on the other hand had won four including Best Director. For me at least, it was still a welcome surprise when "Argo" took home the statuette. I had a feeling it would win in the end but it was still suspenseful. Going into Oscar night, I predicted that editor William Goldenberg was going to win but for his work on "Zero Dark Thirty". I wanted him to win for "Argo" instead and I got my wish. In all these award ceremonies, Affleck & his film were competing against a lot of champion directors, actors and their well-made movies. I must clarify that I don't feel Ang Lee deserved his second Oscar. Along with other critics, I feel Affleck should have been nominated at the Oscars for directing. "Argo" did get other Academy Award nominations I haven't mentioned yet such as for Original Score, Sound Editing and Sound Mixing. Future Oscar-winning composer Alexandre Desplat was amazing at creating feelings of contrast, suspense and resolution. I was hoping "Argo" would win Oscar for the latter two nominations but it didn't. The changes that were made to the real story for the sake of the movie were justified. "Argo @$#* yourself."

4 Stars out of 5