Citizen Kane Response

I think the title "The American" comments on the idea of the American Dream. Kane went from an orphanage to being on the richest people in America and having all the material goods he wanted. Many would say that this is the American dream. However, throughout the film we find out that these 'goods' do not make Kane very happy at all and he longs to go back to the peacefulness of the orphanage. I think that the film opposes the American Dream and calls it false by telling the story of somebody who had it all and wished he had nothing.

MIYST: Argo

The Movie Was Fake. The Mission Was Real. Argo is a 2012 film directed and produced by actor Ben Affleck, based on the true story of Tony Mendez, a CIA operative, who led a rescue of six U.S. diplomats from Iran during the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis. The screenplay for the film was based on Joshuah Bearman's 2007 article in The Wire, “How the CIA Used a Fake Sci-Fi Flick to Rescue Americans from Tehran.” The film has been widely critically acclaimed, which drew me to watching it. Argo has received seven Academy Award nominations including Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Actor in a supporting role. Argo is among the top films of 2012 for many major critics. 

Argo starts out with different shots of both the US embassy and a large group of very angry Iranians. The camera switches back and forth between the embassy and the Iranians, adding a dramatic tension as the Americans try to destroy documents knowing that the Iranians will be storming the embassy.  Visuals of American flags burning and Iranian chants add a lot to this scene as well. The effects of the scene were great. Just as the Iranians storm the embassy, six Americans decide to make an escape and avoid capture. This scene sets the tone for the rest of the film. Following the opening scene, the CIA starts planning ways they could extract the six out of Iran, this is where Mendez (Affleck) comes in. With no ideas coming up, Mendez comes up with idea watching Planet of the Apes with his son. The idea is that the escapees are Canadian film makers scouting locations for a new film entitled “Argo.” Mendez and his supervisor Jack O'Donnell (Bryan Cranston) contact John Chambers (John Goodman), a Hollywood make-up artist. I feel like these two characters cold have developed more throughout the film. They then link up with film producer Lester Siegel (Alan Arkin), to try to come up with details that could trick the Iranians into believing the story that they are film makers. Acting as a producer for the new film, Mendez enters Iran and meets up with the escapees. After a few days of learning identities and hesitation, the Americans finally go to the airport posing as Canadians. After learning that the mission is off, Mendez forces O’Donnell to go through with the mission anyway. The last scene is filled with tense moments of the Iranians approving identities at the last moment. Great visual effects added to tension that made this film stand out. The film ends with the Americans barely escaping and clips of actual news reels of President Jimmy Carter giving the Canadians all the credit for helping the Americans escape.

Ben Affleck

I thought this film was very good and very different from what has came out lately. This film is very dependent of plot rather than visuals, which is a breath of fresh air for me at least. The visuals of Iran were great and added a very nice realism to the film. As far as acting goes Affleck was great, as well as Arkin as the film producer. Affleck played a very different role in this film than he did another one of his films Good Will Hunting. It was nice to see Affleck play a more serious role in Argo compared to his jokester role in Good Will Hunting. My only complaint of the film was how we got introduced to so many characters but never rally got to know any  of them. All in all, I thought Argo was a good film with a great plot. Definitely one of the better films of the past few years. I give 3.5 out of 4 stars.