Our Man In Tehran

Drew Taylor and Larry Weinstein’s documentary is the Canadian version of the 1979 Iranian Hostage Crisis told with much Hollywood gloss in Ben Affleck's vastly over-rated Argo.  Whereas according to the latter, Tinseltown saved the day by smuggling six Americans out of revolutionary Iran under the guise of a being part of a film crew, Our Man In Tehran tells of the vital importance of the Canadian Embassy under the guidance of Ambassador Ken Taylor (no relation to the director), to whom the title refers, in making the ruse work, a noticeable deficiency in Affleck's film. It also gives a rounded account of the historical events which led to the “terrorist” act,

There are no world-shattering revelations here but the film is a deserved recognition of the Canadian contribution, commendably relying on the accounts of those who actually were there, including the hostages themselves as well as those involved such as former Canadian Prime Minister Joe Clark and the then Minister of External Affairs, Flora MacDonald.  A good deal of self-deprecating fun is had with contrasting the unassuming manner of the Canadians with their blow-hard cousins to the South (also, unfortunately for him, the real-life Tony Mendez is a good deal less prepossessing than Ben Affleck),

Whilst performing well as a rattling good yarn for the more serious-minded, Our Man In Tehran is also a salutary reminder of the indefatigably gung-ho nature of the American psyche and its Hollywood trumpet.

 

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