Riveting Argo

Angry shouts of the demonstrators reverberated inside the US embassy walls while the terrified civilians and embassy officials huddled inside.  The thunderous clamor to bring back the Americans’ harbored fugitive is nonstop. Finally, the irate crowd pushes through the gates, rushing inside the embassy grounds, clambering up the walls and striking at the door.

These are the unnerving opening scenes of Argo. The same scenes Ben Affleck wants you to see and feel, the same ones people inside the US Embassy of Iran must have felt like on that day in 1979. Enough  to make you want to shout “Get out now!” inside the darkened cinema but you can’t. Then finally like someone reads your thought, some of them gets outside through a secret door and hurry to the streets to an unknown fate.  And their ordeal from Iran to their daring escape is what Argo is all about.

I have watched the first two films of Ben Affleck, Gone Baby Gone and The Town. Both films  were good, disturbing, making you ponder. Like Argo did. Though, I didn’t appreciate his cliché of an opening, Affleck’s character waking up in a messy motel room because it reminded me of numerous tortured hero Bruce Willis characters woke up to,  I got past it as Argo progressed. There was more to the film than a brooding CIA man.

There was the hilarious script concocted just for this escape plan peppered with the presence of a sharp-tongued producer who made the movie believable plus the calm demeanor of the white-haired Canadian ambassador played by Victor Garber who is not CIA in this film. Yes, he is no Jack Bristow here J Then we also have the grim-faced men of the CIA and the State Department who you’re tempted to tell off and of course, the realistic portrayal of the talented Middle Eastern actors who I swear made me believe I was watching true scenes in Iran.

The location, the costumes in the movie were commendable. The attention to detail to recreate the 70s and the disturbing scenes on the streets was noteworthy. The backstory of the Shah of Iran at the beginning of the film was also placed well so you know why the Iranians are so damn mad and banging at the gates. The old news clips with US TV anchors in their younger years also brought authenticity in the film making you feel like you were really living in the 70s. Moreover, the grandness of that building in Turkey where Affleck’s character met another intelligence man was also memorable. What a landmark.

Overall, Argo was about the “best bad idea” the CIA had that time, a proof that sometimes what is the most bizarre and outrageous idea can be the most effective. Thinking out of the box in this case helped a lot.  Rounding up this ludicrous plan is the cooperation of Hollywood with the CIA and the generosity of the Canadians, all factors that helped save the life of the embassy people. Moreover, the guts of Mendez, Affleck’s character has also been critical, making the escape possible. His bravery was steadfast and astounding given the dangerous circumstance they were in.

This film has indeed cemented Affleck’s shift to directing. Given Argo’s box-office and critical success, I’m sure we will see more of his films. I’m just amazed how he can direct a film like he’s been at it for ages, his films remind me of those made by Clint Eastwood, crafted with a subtle edge and seared with throbbing dilemmas. And in Argo, he combined it with a riveting tempo, taking you to a heart-thumping ride, pulling your insides in a knot then, and then finally letting you sigh in relief after his characters made it through. Whew! J

Finding Forrester and Midnight in Paris: Inspiring Writer films

It’s one of those days when I struggle with my writing. Yes, it comes and goes. It has its ebbs and flows. And so to take me out of the doldrums, I’m forcing myself to remember writer character in films who had wrestled with their own writing dilemmas. Something to remind me that I’m not alone on this solitary endeavor.

One such film is Finding Forrester starring Sean Connery, a film about an African-American teenager who accidentally came across an old reclusive writer who eventually became his writing mentor.

“Constipated writing”  and “Where are you leading me to? were some of the acerbic comments Connery's character initially dished out on the boy's journal. And I couldn't help but smile and recall almost the same comments I got from a senior writer in a workshop. Comments that led me to bristle inside because really, who wants to be called on one's work, when you have poured your blood and guts into it and someone trips you with its flaws. It’s like someone criticizing your child. But in the end, I appreciated it because sometimes, you need a mentor who can point out the constricted parts of your story and tell you what doesn't work.

Forrester, Sean Connery’s character also noted that an aspiring writer should also be careful who they share their work with because some people have their own prejudices like the teacher/writer in the film who accused the boy of plagiarism. This professor can't seem to come to terms that a young, African-American male from the Bronx can write well. That good writing can also sprout from one of the unlikeliest places he can imagine and not only in schools with the best writing programs. 

Here are some of my favorite quotes in the movie:

"You write your first draft...with your heart. You rewrite with your head. The first key to writing is...to write. Not to think."

"Someone I once knew wrote that we walk away from our dreams afraid that we may fail, or worse yet, afraid we may succeed"

Another film that have also been my writing inspiration is Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris. I love the cinematography of the movie, the beauty and splendor of Paris by day and how it looks in the rain at night. Truly, Allen must have been in love with the city because his shots were enigmatic like a smitten guy showcasing his ladylove’s alluring profiles. But Paris does look magical especially when you see the Eiffel Tower’s twinkling lights under the moonlight.

The film is a story of Gil, a writer who travels back to the 1940s in Paris at the stroke of midnight. There he met the almost alcoholic Hemingway and the party animal F.Scott Fitzgerald and his fiery wife Zelda. He also met the solid writer-critic Gloria Stein. Watching the writers' quirks and hearing their quotes were some of the entertaining portions of the film. Below is my favorite part, an excerpt of Gil and Hemingway's banter.

Gil: I would like you to read my novel and get your opinion. 
Hemingway: I hate it. 
Gil: You haven't even read it yet. 
Hemingway: If it's bad, I'll hate it. If it's good, then I'll be envious and hate it even more. You don't want the opinion of another writer. 

Other great artists were also featured in the film like Picasso and Dali, each with their own brand of temperament and wit. And honestly just the sight of these prolific artists made me realize one thing, good art can outlive its creator. It can go on and on and be appreciated by future generations, its impact withstanding the rigors of time and change and its creators forever immortalized on films such as this. Given that, I want to be immortal too J

Midnight in Paris starred Luke Wilson, he portrayed a writer from Hollywood who wanted to take a shot at writing a novel. He had doubts if he could make it as a novelist one day and not only be stuck churning out scripts for Hollywood. But his fiancée, Rachel McAdams, a practical woman couldn't get it, why he needs to move to Paris to write his novel when they are living cushy lives in the States already. But his surreal experience in the 40s had already changed him, he wanted to give his dream a shot. So he ended his engagement to his cheating girlfriend and decided that he will move to Paris. And one night he ran into the Parisian girl he met in a flea market, the one who loved the city like he does and the one who didn't mind walking in the rain.

Remembering both films have been inspiring. It makes me want to continue learning about this craft. Of pushing myself to be better. It is hard work really but I'd rather be doing this than something else. And when I'm in the doldrums again, I can tell myself that I'm never alone on this journey. There are also others like me, deep in thought, stringing out the most succinct words to get the most fluid of sentences and battering themselves over and over, asking themselves if they edited enough J