ARGO

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ARGO

2012

(7,8 out of 10)
Biografico (Drammatico|Storico|Thriller)
2 h 0 min - 120 min
Directed by Ben Affleck

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	Ben Affleck
	Bryan Cranston
	Alan Arkin
	John Goodman

Plot | Cast | Goofs | Synopsis

Nel 1979, in seguito alla fuga negli Stati Uniti dello Scià iraniano Mohammad Reza Pahlavi durante la rivoluzione, l'ambasciata americana di Teheran fu presa d'assalto dai rivoluzionari e i suoi impiegati sequestrati per più di 400 giorni. Sei cittadini statunitensi riuscirono a fuggire di nascosto e trovare rifugio nella residenza dell'ambasciatore canadese, il quale, a proprio rischio e pericolo, concesse clandestinamente ospitalità e supporto. Per riportare in patria i propri connazionali la CIA organizzò una missione di esfiltrazione particolarmente audace, ideata dall'esperto del campo Tony Mendez e coadiuvata da una vera produzione hollywoodiana. Basandosi su una sceneggiatura realmente acquistata dal sindacato sceneggiatori fu data l'illusione a tutti (soprattutto alla stampa, in modo che si producessero articoli in materia) che c'era l'intenzione di girare un film di fantascienza in Iran, così da poter ottenere dal Ministero della cultura iraniano il permesso di entrare ed uscire dal paese e, nel fare questo, poter portare via i sei ospiti dell'ambasciatore canadese spacciandoli per maestranze del film. Il titolo del finto film in questione era Argo. Sulle basi di questa vera storia Ben Affleck orchestra un film che forza la realtà dei fatti quanto serve per creare tensione e suspense ma non manca mai di rimarcare gli elementi di veridicità e di confinare in maniera netta le licenze cinematografiche. Il risultato è un'opera di sorprendente solidità, animata da un'etica di ferro e capace di muoversi attraverso i tre registri principali del cinema, amalgamandoli con l'invisibile maestria di un veterano del cinema. Nonostante sia solo al suo terzo film da regista Ben Affleck si conferma uno degli autori giovani più interessanti in assoluto, capace di fondere l'azione da cinema di guerra della prima parte con la commedia hollywoodiana della seconda e infine la tensione del dramma storico della terza. Un viaggio tra diversi toni in cui l'unica costante è il regista stesso, che incarna il protagonista Tony Mendez con una recitazione minimalista e pacata, esplorando tutte le declinazioni di un'infinita malinconia di sguardo che fa il paio con il rigore morale profuso nel raccontare la sua storia. In questo straordinario esempio di modernità cinematografica c'è tutta l'esperienza del cinema politico, teso e aggressivo della Hollywood degli anni '70, unita ad uno stile fluido ed invisibile, ad un gusto post-Mad Men per la precisa ricostruzione dei diversi costumi della società di qualche decennio fa e ad una capacità non comune di lavorare sul dettaglio della messa in scena. Ben Affleck alza ancora l'asticella e non si accontenta più (come per Gone Baby Gone e The Town) di prendere un buon soggetto e girare con gusto e abilità un'ottima sceneggiatura ma, pur mantenendo tutto il riguardo del caso verso l'intrattenimento del proprio pubblico di riferimento, orchestra il suo racconto in modo che anche le parti più piccole, i ruoli comprimari o alcune parole pesino come macigni e siano in grado, con uno sguardo o un dettaglio, di fare il lavoro del cinema più serio e audace: stimolare nello spettatore correlazioni tra i fatti e i personaggi narrati e l'attualità, ovvero la storia della politica estera americana antecedente e soprattutto successiva al 1979.

<br>Anachronisms<br>_________<br>The establishing shot when Tony Mendez goes to Hollywood to seek help is the dilapidated HOLLYWOOD sign, which is indeed how the sign appeared in the mid 1970's after years of neglect. Since the sign was originally built in the 1920's, it was only planned as a temporary structure. However, the sign was refurbished and rebuilt with new letters in November 1978, which was a full year before the Iranian hostage crisis began.<br><br>--------<br>A TV shows Ted Kennedy's victory speech in the New York and Connecticut primaries. These happened on March 25, 1980, and the mission was completed on January 27.<br><br>--------<br>Long shot of plane taking off from Dulles for London shows twin-engine jet, which were not generally cleared for use in transatlantic flights until 1985.<br><br>--------<br>The U.S. Marines at the embassy are wearing Battle Dress Uniforms (BDU). BDUs were not introduced until the fall of 1981.<br><br>--------<br>During the table read scene, the robot who speaks has blue LED's for eyes. Blue LEDs were not invented until 1993.<br><br>--------<br>In the meeting in Max Klein's office, there is a copy of Sid Caesar's autobiography, "Where Have I Been?", on the bookshelf. This memoir was not published until 1983.<br><br>--------<br>Ben Affleck's character Tony Mendez wears a Rolex Sea-Dweller DEEPSEA (reference number 116660) watch which was introduced first in 2008 (in 1980 the correct Rolex Sea-Dweller should be a reference number 1665).<br><br>--------<br>Most of the glasses worn by the characters have an anti-reflective coating that looks blueish / purple in color to those looking at the front of the glasses. This type of coating would not be used in 1979-1980.<br><br>--------<br>When driving up to Dulles Airport outside of Washington, the terminal building is not shown accurately. One see additions to the terminal that were not constructed until 1996. In 1979/1980, the terminal was about half the size it is now.<br><br>--------<br>It is indicated as 1980 when Istanbul Bosphorus is viewed but the ferry shown is a new modern ferry travels between Asian and European sides of the Bosphorus.<br><br>--------<br>When Sahar crosses the border into Iraq the flag at the border station has Allahu Akbar in traditional kufic Arabic script between the three black stars. Saddam Hussein added the phrase in 1991 in what was supposed to be his handwriting. The kufic variant was added in 2004 following the US invasion. The flag in 1978 would have just displayed the stars.<br><br>--------<br>During the final sequence between Tony and his sleeping son Ian, a toy of the "Star Wars" character Boba Fett can be seen on the shelf however the character of Boba Fett was not introduced until "Star Wars: Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back" in 1980.<br><br>--------<br>The song "A Little T & A" by The Rolling Stones appears on the soundtrack however this song was not released until 1981.<br><br>--------<br><br><br>Audio/visual unsynchronised<br>_________<br>When they celebrate in the Canadian embassy, they put on side two of the Led Zeppelin album "Led Zeppelin IV", put the needle down in the middle and it plays "When the Levee Breaks" but that song is the last cut on that album side.<br><br>--------<br>The safety glass at the Swissair gate when broken by the Iranian guards sounded like a regular (nonsafety) pane of glass when it hit the ground.<br><br>--------<br><br><br>Continuity<br>_________<br>As Tony Mendez writes his son a happy birthday post card the word "so" jumps down a line between shots.<br><br>--------<br>When Mendez first finds the "Argo" script, it has a black vinyl cover with gold embossed lettering. When he walks out to the patio, the cover is gone.<br><br>--------<br>When in Istanbul, agent Tony Mendez enters the Blue Mosque to meet up with a fellow, but the next scene with their conversation is taking place in the Hagia Sophia former Orthodox Church (there are even close-up frames with byzantine frescoes of saints).<br><br>--------<br><br><br>Errors in geography<br>_________<br>When in Istanbul, Ben Affleck is shown entering the Blue Mosque, but when inside, the shots clearly show the inside of the Aya Sofia.<br><br>--------<br>The time difference between Tehran and Washington DC is 8 1/2 hours and the difference between DC and LA is another 3 (ie, 8:30AM in Tehran is midnight in DC and 9PM in LA). On the day of the escape, when Tony confirms to the CIA that he is going ahead with the mission, it appears to be dawn in Tehra, and the scenes which follow over the next several hours are difficult to reconcile with these time zone differences.<br><br>--------<br>While Mendez is going to the Canadian Embassy in Iran, you can clearly see the logo of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality behind a traffic sign.<br><br>--------<br>Some shots in Iran, there are some "Anadol" brand cars on the streets. Anadol is a Turkish car manufacturer which sold only in Turkey.<br><br>--------<br><br><br>Factual errors<br>_________<br>As the Swiss Boeing 747 is taking off, police cars are keeping up along side when it rotates even though the take off speed of this aircraft is between 160-180 kts. The vehicles also drive directly behind the number 4 engine without being affected by jet blast.<br><br>--------<br>Flight SR363 has the registration HB-ISO and is depicted as a Boeing 747. The registration HB-ISO belonged to a McDonnell Douglas DC-9-51.<br><br>--------<br>The opening narration states that, in 1953, Britain and the C.I.A. engineered a coup d'etat to depose Prime Minister Mohammmad Mossadegh and install Reza Pahlavi as Shah. Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was already the shah at the time of the coup. The coup began when the Shah dismissed Mossadegh and appointed Fazlollah Zahedi prime minister.<br><br>--------<br>Early in the film there is a reference to the Canadian "Foreign Secretary". This is a British title, not Canadian. The Canadian cabinet member is "Minister of External Affairs", and this title is correctly referenced (in a TV clip) near the end of the film.<br><br>--------<br><br><br>Miscellaneous<br>_________<br>In closing credits, they misspell "Battlestar Gallactica" (sic)<br><br>--------<br><br><br>Revealing mistakes<br>_________<br>Joe Stafford's glasses are plain glass: they do not distort what is behind them.<br><br>--------<br>The television sets inside of the U.S. and Canadian embassies have two knobs for changing channels and are correct for this time period in the U.S., which used two frequency bands (VHF and UHF). Iranian TV used only UHF frequencies and their television sets would have had only one knob.<br><br>--------<br><br><br><br><br><br>