Review of Argo (2012) by Niloo R — 15 Oct 2013

I really liked argo - I think it had a great script, a great director and some stellar performances. it encapsulated the atmosphere and mood of chaos that permeated iran during the islamic revolution rather accurately, and managed to convey that feeling to it's audience.

I was actually impressed with how truthful/respectful the film was. generally with films like this, the expectation is that they're biased in favour of the western view and depict iranians or "the other" as barbarians or soulless killers.

this film however for the most part refrained from doing that, depicting both sides as flawed in their own way and also showing that iranian people were in as much stress/panic by the revolution and new regime as the american protagonists.

there were some small bits that I didn't find credible (people's accents/plot-holes) but they were so minimal compared to how much the film got right that I wasn't particularly bothered. I really loved the premise of the film - it combined all my loves (films/iran/human stories) - but somehow I found myself slightly underwhelmed - I guess I expected to blow my mind, which it didn't really do.

though to be fair, it was still a fantastic, highly enjoyable film that depicted real events about real people.