Wednesday, August 4, 2010

'Garbo the Spy' at S.F. Film Festival

"I hadn't heard of Juan Pujol before, but he was one of the most important figures of World War II - a double agent code-named Garbo (because of his excellent acting skills) who was trusted by the Germans but worked for the Allies. He was so good at his job he was awarded an honorary knighthood by the British and the Iron Cross II by the Nazis. His key contribution was his role in the success of Operation Fortitude, the mission of which was to deceive the Germans about the date and location of the D-Day invasion. Pujol most definitely saved Allied lives because of his work. However, director Edmon Roch has an intriguing problem: How does one make a documentary about a cipher? Solution: In addition to the usual maps, talking heads and archival war footage, Roch intercuts scenes from classic films about spies to mirror what Pujol was encountering in real life (and suggesting, of course, that Pujol had to be every bit the actor that Peter Lorre, George Sanders, Alec Guinness or, yes, Greta Garbo was to pull it off). Ingenious."

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