Argo (2012)

My father is full-blood Iranian who came to the US for college and ended up staying.  So, even though I was just a kid in middle school, I remember the hostage crisis.  I remember the yellow ribbons, the "Iranians not welcome" signs on restaurant marquees, and I remember making childish jokes (better not make me mad or I'll hold you hostage, haha!) at the expense of my race to show which I side I was on.  But I never knew the why or the particulars of the how.

Argo does a great job of filling in those details.  It showed me just how scary things got for Iranian citizens and just how frightening it must have been for my father watching the events unfold on the news, knowing his mother, siblings, and their families were there in Tehran.  But it's not only informative, it's interesting, exciting and even supplied a few laughs.

My criticisms are 1) too many extreme close-up and dizzying camera work -- I actually got slightly motion sick and 2) the climax was unnecessarily Hollywoodized.  Earlier this month, there was an interview with Tony Mendez, the CIA agent played by Ben Affleck, and he said that the only tense moment at the airport was when their passports were gathered and taken to a back room for several minutes.  They had no idea what the hold up was but, when the man emerged with their passports, he was holding a just-prepared cup of tea.  That would have been suspenseful, funny, and accurate all at the same time.  Why make up a series of events that felt familiar and false?

One other note -- I leaned over to Gary during the film to tell him that Alan Arkin will be nominated for this performance.

B+