Argo (4 Stars)

This film, the true story of the rescue of six American fugitives from Iran in 1980, won the Academy Award for best film in 2013. I personally don't think it was the best film at the awards. I consider both "Django Unchained" and "The Life of Pi" better. Nevertheless, "Argo" is a very good film, once more proving that truth can be stranger than fiction.

On November 4th 1979 Iranian protesters, led by students, stormed the American embassy in Teheran and held the embassy staff as hostages. In exchange for their freedom they demanded the extradition of the Shah, the country's previous leader, from the USA to Iran. Unknown to the Iranians six of the embassy staff escaped through the back door and took refuge in the house of the Canadian ambassador. An American government expert, Tony Mendez, devised an ingenious attempt to free them. He would pose as a Canadian film producer who wanted to make a science fiction film in Iran. The six Americans would be supplied with Canadian passports so they could pretend to be the main members of the film crew: the director, the cameraman, the screenwriter, etc. Since it's a true story it isn't too much of a spoiler to say that the mission was a success. To avoid reprisals against America it was claimed that it was a purely Canadian operation. It wasn't until 1997 that the CIA declassified the mission and Tony Mendez could be publicly honoured.

The film is enjoyable, despite some deviation from the facts for dramatic effect. The final departure from the airport is shown as being hindered by a series of problems. This heightens the suspense and makes it a better film. In actual fact the departure went without a hitch. The Iranians didn't know that the Americans had escaped until they saw them on the American news.

The DVD's extra features make fascinating viewing. The six freed Americans and Tony Mendez are all still alive, so they tell us their thoughts about their ordeal. Former president Jimmy Carter also speaks about the mission.

"History starts out as farce and ends up as tragedy".

That's a misquote from Karl Marx, but it sums up the film's message. The whole Iranian revolution was a joke. Incompetent people took power who had no skill at ruling. Now, 30 years later, we see the tragedy. Iran is still being ruled by a Fascist anti-semitic regime that gives its people no freedom and voices threats to neighbouring countries. The current president of Iran, Hassan Rouhani, has denied that the Holocaust ever took place. The world needs to sit up and take notice. In the 1930's the rhetoric of Germany's leader was ignored, allowing the biggest genocide in world history to take place. Have we learnt nothing from history? Fascism is an evil that should never again be tolerated. Iran's leaders should be arrested and imprisoned for life.