Truth is stranger than fiction

Rating: 7/10 (10 November 2012)

Americans are usually very good at making films about their own historic events. Just a few examples that come to mind are 'Frost/Nixon', 'Milk', 'J. Edgar', 'A Mighty Heart' and 'The Social Network'. 'Argo' is no exception. It's a well-crafted, solid movie about a bizarre event that took place during the hostage drama at the US Embassy in Tehran. In a clear case of truth being stranger than fiction, the CIA smuggled six US Citizens out of Iran, disguising them as members of a Canadian film crew making the sci-fi movie Argo.
Director Ben Affleck used this event to make a suspenseful thriller. He knows how to make a story exciting: by showing parallel developments that put the audience on the edge of their chairs. While the CIA is working on the escape route, the Iranian intelligence is assembling photo's of the six by puzzling together pieces of shredded paper. Who will be the first to succeed? Although the audience knows how the story ends, the suspense is being built up through the entire movie.
Immediately after I left the cinema, I planned to find out how much of what I had seen has really happened. As it turns out: quite a lot of it is made up. Just read CIA-agent Tony Mendez's own account of the operation on the website of the CIA. (His report is titled 'A Classic Case of Deception'). He describes how the operation went 'as smooth as silk'. There was no problem whatsoever getting the six out of the country. Let alone revolutionary guards driving armored cars on the runway to stop the plane, as is shown in the movie.
But of course, a feature film is not a documentary. It's okay to spice up the historic facts in order to make a better movie. Argo is very well-made, with a genuine period feel and a clever script. The only thing that bothered me a bit was the too-good-to-be-true last-minute escape against all odds. The film would have been more realistic if it wouldn't have emphasized the breath-taking thriller elements so much.