Friday afternoon trailer: Argo

Linking nicely with current affairs theme of the third and final Presidential Debate before this year's election, the one about US foreign policy, here comes a film about a pivotal event from 1979 which, according to some, still reverberates in the tensioned relationship between the West and the Middle East. And believe it or not, cinema played a major part in the unravelling of this specific event.

Argo is directed by Ben Affleck and is based on the true story of how six American diplomats were rescued by the C.I.A. during the Iran hostage crisis in 1979 by pretending to be Canadian film-makers, scouting for a location in Iran, in preparation for what was to be a major Hollywood production adaptation of the novel Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny (Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1968), a Hindu-inspired mystical science fiction story which takes place on a colonised planet. Oh, and this imaginary sci-fi film was called Argo, like Jason's vessel which carried him in his voyage to find the Golden Fleece.

And when I say "based on a true story", I actually mean it. The Canadian Caper, as this seemingly unbelievable CIA rescue mission is now called, has been detailed in three books authored by Tony Mendez, a former CIA operative involved in clandestine and covert operations with the CIA during the Cold War.

Tony Mendez, played by Ben Affleck in Argo - the real one, was directly responsible with this daring idea and flew into Iran himself, providing the six American officials with fake Canadian documentation, visas and a prepared back-stories involving the production of Argo - the fake one.

Other members of the cast include Bryan Cranston, playing Mendez's supervisor, Alan Arkin as Hollywood big-shot Lester Siegel and John Goodman as John Chambers, a famous make-up artist who worked on Planet of the Apes and the pointy ears from Star Trek. Both those achievements on their own qualify him as a legend in some social circles, but together..he must be like a God..or something. Chambers was actually decorated by the CIA for his help with undercover ops and was instrumental in setting up the Canadian Caper and making it believable in Hollywood, something only a make-up artist would really know how to achieve.

The trailer itself is loaded with thrillery thrilling moments but mixing sober CIA people with hungover Hollywood people is destined to raise a few smiles on the way as well - queue Siegel actually saying: "If I'm doing a fake movie, it's going to be fake hit!".

IMDb has a user generated rating of 8.4 for this one, while Metascore's aggregated review counting system that no one understands gives it a more than respectable 86 out of 100. So you might not want to miss this one when it comes to a cinema...near you!

Also, see WIRED Magazine's story about the Canadian Caper here: How the CIA Used a Fake Sci-Fi Flick to Rescue Americans From Tehran

Total Recall (2012)

Undeva intr-un viitor mai mult sau mai putin apropiat si mai mult sau mai putin post-apocaliptic s-a intamplat un plot-device in urma caruia Pamantul a devenit habitabil in doar doua zone, care, in mod oportun povestii, sunt fix opuse pe planeta. Una este in Europa si cealalta in Australia, iar cele doua zone sunt in conflict in urma lipsei de spatiu.
Australia a redevenit cumva colonie, iar in lupta pentru independenta (cred), teroristi ai Coloniei tot amplaseaza bombe in partea europeana, dorind astfel sa obtina… ceva important, sunt sigur.

 In toata aceasta distopie il gasim pe Douglas Quaid (Colin Farrell), care, desi e casatorit cu Kate Beckinsale, este nefericit cu viata sa. Asa ca se duce la o clinica unde clientilor li se implanteaza amintiri pe care altfel nu si le-ar permite: o amanta de lux, o excursie pe Marte, o aventura de spioni etc. Quaid o alege pe cea din urma, dar inainte ca inception-ul sa poata avea loc, o echipa de mascati iau clinica cu asalt, omorandu-i pe toti cei prezenti, minus Quaid, care brusc are super-abilitati de spion si scapa cu viata, dar nu inainte sa omoare 13 agenti mascati.
 Lumea lui este data peste cap cand primeste o serie de indicii care ii arata ca el de fapt chiar este un spion ale carui amintiri au fost alterate si ca este adanc implicat in reteaua teroristilor de pe colonie.

 De partea cui lupta de fapt? Este totul doar o simulare? Va primi fata la final? Si pe care din ele? Toate aceste intrebari si altele primesc un raspuns vag sau niciunul, in urmatoarea ora de impuscaturi, explozii si turnuri de poveste irelevante.

 "What is real?"  Este un tagline care se potriveste filmului original sau povestirii lui Philip K. Dick pe care se bazeaza acesta. Asta deoarece aici povestea se concentreaza mult mai mult pe ambiguitatea realitatii in care traieste personajul. El crede ca lupta pentru o cauza buna, dar tot ce face e foarte posibil sa fie doar o simulare, caz in care orice actiune a sa ar fi complet futila. Dar daca totusi e real? O tematica ce da filmului un nivel in plus celui de film de actiune. Tema care face o aparitie si in noul Total Recall, caci povestea e bazata pe lucrarile mai sus mentionate, dar este repede data la o parte si uitata in favoarea scenelor de actiune intortocheate a caror functiune e greu de explicat. Unde vreau sa ajung e ca filmul nu este un SF inteligent, daca la asta va asteptati, de la premisa generala implauzibila pana la detaliile care o compun. Exista unele elemente in care o viziune gandita a unui posibil viitor isi iveste capul, dar destul de putine.

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