Ben Affleck, the film director who used the power of fiction to create the best story in “Argo”

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2018.08.01Akira Murayama

An approach that makes the most of the weapon called “movies”

In an interview at the soft release of Argo, Affleck talked about how great Chris Terrio's screenplay was. Affleck himself had watched documentaries and read articles about the case and thought it was material suitable for a 10-hour drama series, but unwieldy for a two-hour film. However, he was amazed at how successfully Theriault's script fit into the film's three-act structure.

It wasn't until Affleck got Chris Terrio's script that he was able to create Argo, a story that moves as powerfully and seamlessly as a calligrapher's strokes. In addition, Terrio's script was surprisingly compatible with director Affleck's lean, gritty direction.

However, the fact that ``Argo'' turned out to be a highly accomplished piece of entertainment led to the huge ``misunderstanding'' that often plagues film adaptations of true stories. A misunderstanding arose that ``all the realistic developments witnessed in the movie really happened,'' and points that differed from historical facts were pointed out, leading to controversy over the pros and cons.

In the first place, there are no non-fiction films that have not been adapted. There are many things in "Argo" that are heavily adapted from actual events, but unlike the story in the movie, the British and New Zealand embassies were cooperative in rescuing the six people, and at the climax, The thrilling escape drama is almost completely fictional.

To begin with, the true story of "Argo" itself is quite extraordinary. How can six people safely escape from Iran, which is on high alert against Americans? Normally he would have tried to be as inconspicuous as possible, but he turned him into a movie star from Hollywood and even held a fake press conference in America. Because the situation was such a difficult emergency, the CIA chose the opposite approach.

The main premise of ``Argo'' is a true story that ``normally would never happen,'' so the audience naturally believes that ``anything can happen.'' What's more, the footage inserted at the beginning of the film showing the occupation of the American embassy (actually shot for this film) throws the audience into an unusual tension. What Affleck and Theriault did best was to make the film look as realistic as possible, giving them the freedom to jump right to the edge of being a thriller.

Throughout the film, Tony Mendez and six embassy staff members who infiltrate Iran are forced to escape many close calls. I am impressed by the way the story unfolds, despite its over-the-top development, the compelling momentum and cinematic persuasion. ``Argo'' is a non-fiction work in which the fiction known as ``movie'' exerts unexpected power in order to save six people whose lives are in danger. Since this was turned into a movie, I think that the approach taken by this film, which took full advantage of the weapon called ``movie'', was overwhelmingly correct.

"Argo" preview

If the film had been filmed as faithfully as possible to the true story, there would have been no exciting excitement and it would have been a flat dialogue drama. However, when it comes to making a movie, it uses the power of fiction to create the most interesting story. The true story of Argo had such potential, and I think Affleck and Terrio turned it into a movie in the best possible way.

Reference books:

“ Argo ” by Antonio Mendez and Matt Baglio, published by Hayakawa Shobo

Reference URL:

https://www.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hollywood/interview-ben-affleck-talks-about-argo-74997.html

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/10/15/film-within-a-film

Text: Akira Murayama

Born in 1971. Writes articles for magazines, newspapers, movie sites, etc. Representative of “ShortCuts,” a review site for distribution-based works.

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