'Argo' dir. Ben Affleck

After a patchy early career ('Pearl Harbour' anyone?) and some lean years where he virtually disappeared from our screens, Ben Affleck is in the process of carving out a new niche for himself as an actor/director. In this well constructed action film, he does a very fine job of both.

Based on a true story, 'Argo' is the tale of how Tony Mendez (Affleck) of the CIA was given a brief to retrieve six US Embassy staff who escaped capture when their building was routed in Tehran in 1979. The method suggested to achieve this goal was unconventional to say the least.

The government comissioned Hollywood producer Lester Siegel (Alan Arkin) and make up artist John Chambers (John Goodman) to begin publicity for their their latest blockbuster - 'Argo' - a science fiction in the late 70's mould. The promotional work for this non-existent film was a ruse to get Mendez permission to enter Iran posing as a Canadian film maker.

Upon arrival, he informs the embassy staff that they must also pretend to be part of the 'Argo' film crew. They are given false Canadian passports and are told to learn their new identities inside out.

There is some understandable reluctance among the group to tell such a tall tale in the hope of escaping Iran but they soon recognise that there are few alternatives. A scene follows in which Affleck expertly ratchets up the tension as the Westerners face the full hostility of The Iranian Revolution in the main bazaar.

This is where the film is at its best as the chaos and mistrust of those fateful months is rendered in vivid detail. The embassy staff come to realise that they have litle control over their own fate in such an unpredictable place.

Back home in the US, the interested parties at the CIA, the White House and in Hollywood can only watch and wait as Mendez does his job. We are given glimpses of how those unfortunate enough not to escape the embassy were treated and how this was felt deeply among Americans.

Meanwhile, Mendez is characterised as a man with a strong sense of right and wrong but a chaotic personal life. The people he is helping to escape likewise seem like believable human beings - just as any of us would be they are terrified by the situation they find themselves in and just want to get home.

And this is the strongest aspect of the film - it's message about how good, intelligent people can overcome fear and mistrust if they work together, even under pressure of unimaginable magnitude.

The film also recognises that America's relationship with Iran at that time was characterised by morally grey double dealing as well as taking on the gritty subject of the violent chaos instigated by the Islamic Revolution, but it is always clear about the divide between those who do good and those that embrace such chaos.

Bizarrely, the non-existent science fiction film 'Argo' carries the same message in a camp, kitsch 70's way that appeals to various parties who are chasing Mendez and his fugitives. In one especially memorable scene, the would-be film crew give a copy of the story board to an interrogator to placate him.

Yet, despite these moments of intensity, a seam of humour runs throughout, recognising that people under such difficult circumstances have to keep laughing in order to get through. It is this that shows 'Argo' its best with its warm sense of humanity amidst harsh circumstances.