Released last: October 2012
Why I watched it: Great word of mouth reviews from friends, and the Oscar buzz for Ben Affleck
Not all historical events are worth re-telling in the big screen, but the Canadian Caper was definitely worth it. The movie focused on only one aspect of the entire story, but it was so compelling that you wanted to see what else happened.
The mood of the movie was intense right off the bat. This is not for the faint of heart, haha! Also, if you wanted a movie to watch on a relaxing weekend night, do not watch this. It offers not the kind of suspense that is outright, but the kind that is already creeping on you without fully realizing it.
The movie somehow reminded me of our family’s visit to Bahrain back in 1995. I know it doesn’t really compare because Bahrain is a far more open country than Iran and we were just vacationing and not trying to escape a revolutionary government. Haha! But I got reminded of my ignorance of the Middle Eastern culture back then. Of course I was over the moon because it was my first plane ride, but I had this nagging anxiety as well because I thought we were going to be harassed just because we were going to the Middle East. I blamed my limited world view on the one-sided media that tends to equate anything Middle East to terrorism.
I won’t discuss US foreign policy when it comes to dealing with Iran or the rest of the Middle East because I am not the expert and really, it’s a complicated topic. But I guess it’s safe to say that lack of understanding and respect is a big factor. And we Filipinos are no stranger to Muslim conflict because we have our own conflict in Mindanao. This is why, more than ever, we are all hoping that the Framework Agreement will truly pave the way for the lasting peace in that region. They deserve it after all.
Owkaaay, but this is not about Mindandao, it’s about Argo! Argofuckyourself! Haha!
Critical Reception: 95% on Rotten Tomatoes
I’d rate it around: 93%. You know the movie is good if after watching the movie, you research about the Canadian Caper or the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis on Wikipedia.
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As I did in 2011, I am listing down the movies I watch for 2012, along with my comment about each viewing experience. These movie pseudo-review/commentaries are hardly scientific. There might be days that I might be more tolerant of crappy movies and so I might find myself going easy on the critique. More so, my "critiques" are hardly theoretical because I admit I have not taken any proper film critiquing classes, haha! I most usually lash out "in the moment". I try to be as objective as possible, but know that we all have our own different tastes when it comes to films.
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