Film: Coup '53
These three days seem likely to be films. Tonight, I was delighted to be seeing Coup '53 finally - it's a documentary about the joint CIA/MI6 operation in 1953 to overthrow the Iranian Prime Minister, who had just nationalised the Iranian oil industry, which had previously operated under the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (now BP). The operation was Churchill's idea (always far too interested in meddling in other countries, that man). Showings are limited, so I missed it before.. it was showing in the Arthouse Crouch End, and was mostly sold out when I looked, so I booked. It was quite a ways away, but I did want to see this.
I had a helluva time getting the last post out, only just getting out in time - only to discover the whole road ripped up! Seems there was a leak in the water mains - major traffic disruption and, crucially, no buses! So I hiked down to the station to get the Tube - too far away to get anything else. Happily, I was only three minutes later catching it than Google Maps said I should be. And although the aircon was struggling, I at least got a seat after one stop.
Was just in time to miss my bus at the other end - but I was early, and as it transpired, this is that rarest of things, a frequent bus. It took me to right across the road from the cinema, where I arrived with minutes to spare. Managed to get a drink, and as I was hungry (hadn't had time to eat), some sugary sweets. Took my seat, handily at the inside edge of the row, so I didn't have to stand for anyone. Saw someone I knew in the row in front! Had one of the sweets, only to find the flavour was way too strong - I binned them later.
The director gave a small speech beforehand, about how the film took 10 years to make, what with tracking down all the evidence - then 1.5 years to get around the censorship, and another 6 or so years to get it distributed. He pointed out what an act of defiance we were committing merely by being in this room, watching this film. And he exhorted us to stay for the Q+A afterwards..
It was slightly surreal to see him on screen shortly afterwards, poking his head out the window of a train speeding through Iran. And I did wonder about the start of the film, which focuses heavily on the process of gathering evidence. I needn't have worried - not only is it all relevant, but we don't see this for the rest of the film. There's plenty of content.
Much of the most incendiary evidence rests on the testimony of a man called Norman Darbyshire, basically a British spy, who was deeply involved, and was interviewed for a BBC series called End of Empire. Except bits of the interview are missing, having been cut out to be pasted into scripts. Happily, gleaning archives from wherever he can, the director mamages to get an uncut version! Neither does the uncut version have the name "Darbyshire" redacted..
He then confronts sundry people involved in the making of the programme, none of whom can remember Darbyshire actually being interviewed, or at least not on camera. He goes and finds the cameraman, mind you, who does.. (in a telling note at the end of the film, it's explained that the cameraman later retracted what he'd said, and said he wasn't, in fact, filmed). In this film, they get Ralph Fiennes to play the role, repeating what Darbyshire said in the interview.
And it's quite remarkable how unrestrained he was, being perfectly frank about all the nefarious dealings he, and the British government, were involved in. They don't come out of this terribly well, of course, with descriptions of government officials that thought anybody west of Calais was a "wog". The Iranians, mind, weren't even thought sufficiently of to be considered "wogs".. there's also a funny interview with a CIA agent, who describes a meeting with Churchill where he was swaying slightly. As the agent remarked, "He'd had a very good lunch.."
They go chapter and verse into it, and it's a scathing indictment. Plenty of contemporary footage sets the scene.. and as the film draws to a close, they muse that this was the end of something that might have led to a democratic state in the Middle East.. instead, it taught the people of the region that might was right, and the US would support anyone, and anything, if there were a profit in it for them. Chilling later footage of people chanting "Death to America" hammers home the point. Not only that, but a shot of box after box of files being loaded onto shelves reminds us of all the covert foreign operations that the US was involved in. As someone says, the coup of '53 showed them how easy it could be to depose a foreign leader.. so they did it again.. and again.. and again..
Excellent film, highly recommended. I didn't stay for the Q+A though - most people did, but I needed food. There wasn't much appealing locally, and it suddenly occurred to me that I might as well head home and eat at The Sun Wharf! They'd certainly still be serving - so off I set. It was a curious journey though; firstly, I got an awful shock when the train announcement said I was going in the wrong direction! I was sure I'd taken the right platform - and so it proved. Then, it took us as far as King's Cross, where we stopped for ages - it wasn't until the driver made a second announcement that I realised there was a signal failure, and we were going nowhere. Well, at least we were somewhere with other connections - so I took the Victoria Line instead, changed to the Jubilee, and got there a little later than I should have. And yes, The Sun Wharf sufficed very well, with a whole dinner (including wine) for less than a glass of wine yesterday..
- Matt Damon as Odysseus, King of Ithaca, who spends 10 years fighting the Trojan War, and then gets.. delayed on the way home, spending another 10 years getting there, and giving his name to the trip. I have a vague memory that this was a curse on him after he annoyed some god or other, but can't find anything about it now.
- Anne Hathaway as his long-suffering wife, Penelope, who spends 20 years awaiting his return. Ages well.
- Tom Holland as their son, Telemachus. So she'd have been 13 when she had him, Odysseus 25. Yeah, works..
- Robert Pattinson as Antinous, who, while Odysseus is away so long (presumed dead), takes advantage of his home, tries to woo Penelope and kill Telemachus, and generally makes a nuisance of himself.
- Mia Goth as Melantho, a favourite slave of Penelope's, who becomes the lover of one of her suitors, and is disrespectful to Odysseus when he finally returns, in disguise, not recognising him.
- Charlize Theron as Calypso, a nymph that detains Odysseus for seven years, until the gods force her to let him go.
- Zendaya as Athena, Goddess of Wisdom and War.
- Lupita Nyong'o as Helen, whose beauty sparked the Trojan War, when she left her husband, Menelaus, King of the warlike Sparta, to elope with Paris, a Trojan prince. Also plays Helen's half-sister, Clytemnestra.
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