Argo

A film set in Iran in 1979 and based on real events. The American embassy is stormed. A crowd comes in and fifty-two people are taken hostage. Six get out through a back door. They move through the streets and take shelter at the Canadian ambassador's residence, where they hide. Washington looks for a way to get them out. Cycling to the border, posing as teachers and other options are discussed and none of them holds. Tony Mendez proposes something else. A fake science fiction film will be set up, the six will be presented as a Canadian crew, and they will be flown out. From there the film moves to Hollywood. A make-up man, a producer, an office, a script, advertisements and a press conference; the fake production has to be genuinely built. What the narrative is interested in is not espionage but fiction: the film shows step by step how many details a lie needs before it can be believed. The Tehran sections are deliberately tense. A trip to a bazaar, a check at the airport, and six people reciting the identities they have memorised. The chase at the airport did not happen; the narrative added it for tension, and that is its most criticised feature. Canada's part in the operation is also reduced in the film, a criticism voiced particularly loudly in Canada. The operation was secret for years and became known when the records were opened in 1997. The film won three Academy Awards: Best Picture, Adapted Screenplay and Editing. Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin, John Goodman and Victor Garber are in the cast. Ben Affleck directed. Who it is for: anyone who likes thrillers based on real events. Who it is not for: anyone looking for historical accuracy; the narrative noticeably rearranges what happened.