The whispered undertone might outweigh the roaring cacophony!
And indeed, the sights and the sounds of ‘Argo’ nudges its way into the skin, seeping through the upper layer, clawing its way into the veins, flowing along with the blood into the heart and finally gushing towards the brain……!! It is one of the most beautiful ‘real’ thrillers of its kind.
All the recent skirmishes in which America was embroiled into, all the major spots in the world where its Snipers are positioned at, where rebels are deposed off replaced by obsequious Yes Men, where even a molehill is considered a towering mountain by its news media – Middle ‘Oil’ East has been, is and will be its sugar pie, its bone of contention, something to pine for and sought after, and something to vent its fury at.
And ‘Argo’ has captured it all. That is not to say I have picked a side. Nor particularly, though definitely American, has this movie.
And the good thing about this is that, it’s not a war movie. Nations have been known to go at war, but none of them has been as over reported, prodigiously pondered at, loquaciously talked about in one formulaic movie after the other, pondered some more in television series as has the ‘Always on the right side’ American wars.
Oie, I digress!
Set in the Iran of Ayatollah Khomeini, it is observed, right at the beginning of the movie, the Embassy of America being taken over by a furious mob who wants the hide of its past Shah, who was originally planted by Americans, and to whom it has given refuge. But America refuses to budge. As a result, the angry mob takes hostage all the diplomats inside the embassy. But six of them escape and are taken under the wing of the Canadian Ambassador Ken Taylor. The people in the White House are at their wits’ end as how to extract them out from their shitty predicament. But with time running out as the Iranian guards hounding every nook and cranny, desperate times calls for desperate measures. So CIA plans a phony sci-fi movie ‘Argo’, whose makers are scouting for an exotic location (in this case, Iran!), and sends in one of their best exfils to get them out! CIA and Hollywood are firmly hand in glove!
Tout, chilling, with subtle and beautifully timed music, from its head to toe, ‘Argo’ got a tranced stare from my side……!!
Though Canadians definitely didn’t like it as it undermined their role (this incident is famously called the ‘Canadian Caper’!) in providing shelter and protection to the six Americans. (See the Canadian v/s CIA roles: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argo_(2012_film) )
All in all, this was a very engrossing movie. Ben Affleck, take a bow. And dear readers, you might do well not to skip on this movie…..!
Alienman 