Truth is stranger than fiction.  Never was that more true than in the events depicted in the Academy Award-winning movie Argo, starring Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin, and John Goodman.

During the storming of the United States Embassy in Tehran in November 1979 by Iranian “students”, six Americans managed to escape the compound and hide out in the home of Canadian Ambassador Ken Taylor.  They languished there for many weeks while American officials tried to come up with a way of extracting them.  Believe it or not, they were seriously considering having these people ride bicycles 300 miles to the Turkish border.  Finally, CIA extraction specialist Tony Mendez, played by Ben Affleck, comes up with the idea of the six as members of a Canadian movie production crew doing location scouting in Tehran for a couple of days.  He would be the movie’s co-producer.  The cover had to be convincing, so they had to come up with a real script to a movie named Argo.  The cover was fleshed out with producers, offices, posters, storyboards, and even a preliminary cast.  It was Mendez’ job to go in, coach them, and shepherd them out.

Because this is a widely documented and widely known event, I don’t think I am giving anything away by telling you that the six Americans were extracted successfully.  The fact that most of the audience knows the outcome does not diminish the quality of this film.  From the disbelief of the Americans as they watched their embassy being over-run, to the preposterous scenarios run by American officials, to the harrowing, tension-filled hours as the six inched their way to freedom, this story was brilliantly told.

I had initially shied away from this movie because I had heard the role played by Canada in this crisis was downplayed, and even belittled.  The truth of the matter is that Canada’s role was portrayed very fairly and even heroically.  A moment that the audience might have missed is that the six Americans were turned away by two different European embassies before the Canadians took them in, at great risk to the ambassador Ken Taylor, and his wife and staff.

If this film can be criticized at all, it’s that, just like the fake movie used for the cover story, the real movie is quintessentially Hollywood, particularly with the ending: the airline reservations approved just in time, the phone picked up just in time, the Iranian guards chasing the Swiss Air flight down the runway.  All of these are cinematic vehicles used to create tension, and all are unnecessary considering the tension and anxiety of the real events.

If you’re looking for similar films that portray real historical events, I recommend Apollo 13, which is available at VPL on DVD and Blu-ray.