RED JOAN

***

Can you imagine if you are sitting with your elderly grandmother and there were a knock on the door and the FBI entered and arrested her for the high crime of being an international spy? That is exactly what happened to an old British woman who is arrested in front of her family and accused of being a World War II spy for the Russians who passed on secret information how to make the atomic bomb. This film was released in 2018 and stars Judi Dench. It is based on the true story, although there were some changes made in the actual circumstances. The story reminds us that during the time period that the film is depicting, the Russians were allies of the United States fighting against the Nazis. The deep dive of this film is intended not only to show how this woman was a successful spy, but why she did it. What was our thinking and what was the mindset of many people at this particular time in history. This film will keep your interest and will be particularly meaningful to history buffs who try to understand the thinking of this time in history.

**

A Most Wanted Man- sp- When you have Phillip Seymour Hoffman in one of his last movies (we understand there are few unreleased ones still in the can) and a John LeCarre spy story, you expect a sure hit. However, in our opinion this movie doesn’t make the grade. From the very beginning, we weren’t sure what was going on and who were the good guys. Maybe this was deliberate ambiguity but it didn’t quite work for us. We are told early on that the movie is set in Hamburg, Germany the locale where the 9/11 plot was hatched and surveillance is very high. We meet the cast of characters which included roles by William Dafoe and Robin Wright. Director Anton Corbin and cinematographer Benoit Delhomme were very creative with their dramatic shots from high above or through reflections in glass or through train windows. The cuts and the scenes are often quite short and we felt we never got a good bead on the back story of the characters. There wasn’t overwhelming action and most of the time and the spy thriller tension just wasn’t there for us. Phillip Seymour Hoffman did do a great job and carried the movie. His chain smoking, ruffled character showed the full range of emotions from a subtle intellectuality to a very believable rage. He certainly was a great actor (2014)

***

Sabotage-nf– (aka The Secret Agent)   We received this DVD in package of items at a charity event. Sometime later, my 9 1/2 year old grandson and I were looking for a movie to watch together and he chose this black and White  1936 Alfred Hitchcock classic. Even a  few years before the official start of World War II the British were wary of secret hostile actions towards their country by Germany. There is Mr. Veloc (Oscar Homolka), an owner of a movie theatre who is really a German spy.  He sets off a secret bomb that only temporarily disrupts the electricity in London.  His wife (Sylvia Sidney) who works in the movie theatre is completely unsuspecting of her husband’s devious role and doesn’t want to give refunds to the movie patrons saying the electricity failure was an act of God. Ted (John Loder), a  secret Scotland Yard detective, suspects foul play by Mr Veloc and goes undercover working in a fruit stand next to the movie theatre. Mr. Veloc, hiding his secret intentions, counteracts his wife and orders refunds to be given. He then plans the planting of a more sinister bomb to another movie theatre secretly hidden among movie reels to be delivered by his wife’s kid brother (Desmond Tester). This young courier has a certain amount of time to deliver the package. His curiosity in events along his journey through the bustling city means that the bomb could go off while this likeable young man is in transit. Hitchcock, of course builds up the tension showing the time and events until there is a premature explosion. The screenplay based on the  novel  The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad also allows Hitchcock to use all the tricks at his disposal to grip the audience with fear and concern as there is a murder in the story as well as a love theme. Scary music suggesting something terrible and devious is about to happen is skillfully  used by this great Director. Things never turn out as you expect.   The movie might be classified as film noir as it is mostly dark (and grainy) but it keeps you on the edge of your seat. Certainly not one of the best of the movies from the director who was known as “ The Master of Suspense “ but one which any film aficionado would probably enjoy. If you chose to seek this one out, remember that Hitchcock was known for making cameo appearances in his films. He appears at the 9 minutes mark in this one, right after the lights go back on and before the lady shuts the kiosk window. Wearing coat and hat, he walks from center screen to the (viewer’s) left, leaning back and looking upwards. That is Hitchcock ! (1936)

****

Fair Game-rm– This movie retells the well known story of Valerie Plame and how she was exposed as a CIA agent by the Vice President’s office because her husband Joe Wilson decided to write an op-ed piece in the N.Y. Times and tell the story how during his fact finding mission for the U.S. government he found absolutely no evidence of the sale of uranium to build nuclear weapons being sold by Niger to Iraq.  The Bush administration was motivated to do this because they had decided to attack Iraq on the basis that they believed Iraq had weapons of mass destruction and this supposed sale was an important part of the case, which they built for the US entry into this war. They tried to discredit Wilson by claiming his wife really sent him there on a boondoggle mission, that he was unreliable and that she was just a middling CIA agent. The opposite was the truth and the criminal act of exposing her as a undercover CIA agent actually endangered many lives who were part of the overseas operations that she was conducting and ruined her career as well as nearly destroying her marriage. Naomi Watts plays Plame who on one hand lives the life of the housewife next door, taking care of young kids, having evening get-togethers with other couples and discussing current events. However, instead of going to work at her cover job with a financial management firm and taking occasional overnight trips, she is at a fairly high level in the CIA going on overnight dangerous missions. Her husband Joe Wilson, former ambassador to Niger as well as having had other State Department jobs now has his own struggling company and doubles as the housedad when his wife is out of town. He is very well played by Sean Penn, who must have especially relished the role of the guy trying to expose government lies.  Director Doug Liman achieved just the right balance in  showing us the everyday life of this housewife spy, mixed with the frightening missions which she undertook. Watts and Penn brought intensity to the outrage and the despair, which their characters experienced. The location shots were very realistic as were the all too familiar cast of characters including the politicians and the media. The film captured an important piece of history mixed with the drama and the human emotions, which were part of this story. It is not a part of history that we should be proud of but what is encouraging is that this film can be made in this country and this story can be told and talked about as much as we choose to do so.(2010)