By Fredrick Misleh

Senior Staff Writer

Argo is based on the true story of the seizure of the U.S. Embassy in Iran in 1979 and the Hostage Crisis that followed. Six Foreign Service officers escaped the embassy out the back door. After the British, Australians, and New Zealand turned the six down, they found refuge at the Canadian ambassador’s residence.

While they waited for a way out, the State Department colluded with the Central Intelligence Agency to get the six Americans out. The job fell to Technical Operations Officer Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck), a career CIA spook with an expertise in ex-filtrating people from hot zones. He turned to his contacts in Hollywood who helped him set up a fake movie studio to make a movie as a cover. The script they stumbled upon was a sci-fi thriller “set in an exotic Middle Eastern landscape” titled Argo.

They go as far as hiring actors to dress up in costume and read the script in front of the press to add to the legitimacy of the film, and giving the six Americans new Canadian identities and making them screenwriters, assistant producers, casting directors, etc. This is how the CIA got the six out. If you want more details, you have to see the movie.

Though the operation took place in 1979, President Bill Clinton only declassified it in 1997. In the 18 years between, the Canadian government disregarded their own safety and admitted they were the ones who brought the six out of Iran.

I highly recommend this film for history buffs, political science majors, and those who are looking for a great CIA thriller that stays true to history without the Hollywood facets.

Five paws.