TORONTO—Unveiling his latest action thriller at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sept. 8, Ben Affleck paid tribute to the bond between the U.S. and Canada.
“Argo,” which Affleck stars in and directed, is a fictionalized version of the 1979 American hostage crisis in Iran.
“The movie does resurrect this idea of ‘Thank you, Canada,’ of valuing Canada, respecting Canada,” Affleck said during the film’s press conference.
Based on true events, “Argo” tells the story of six Americans who found refuge in the home of the Canadian ambassador when Iranian militants invaded the American embassy in Iran.
The U.S. refuses to deal with such a complicated situation, and grants them Canadian-American passports. CIA specialist Tony Mendez (Affleck), then cooks up a plan to stage a fake Hollywood production to get the hostages out of Iran disguised as the film crew.
Ken Taylor, played by Canadian actor Victor Garber, was the true hero of the plot, according to Affleck.
“None of that would have happened without our friends to the north, so thank you very much,” he said.
Although the movie involved adopting typical Canadian cliches into the story, the cast didn’t go too far. Canadianisms such as “eh”‘ and “T’rono” were improvised on set but there was no “Canadian cheat sheet” with references to the maple leaf or hockey.
“I just told them, ‘Be twice as nice as you normally are,’” he joked.
Affleck sees the movie as not only a commemoration of important historic events, but also as a symbolization of two western countries stepping up to the plate and taking responsibility when other could not.
“It’s a really meaningful time in the history of these two countries, where the United States stood up collectively as a nation and said ‘We thank you, we appreciate you, we respect you, and we’re in your debt,’ which to me is profoundly moving,” he said.
Alan Arkin, who plays the skeptical Hollywood producer of the CIA’s fictitious film, sees “Argo” as a tribute to a situation that could have escalated into a war, but was handled without the use of one gun.
This creative way of getting the Americans back to safety is “the most potent aspect of the whole film,” Arkin said.
“The loving, positive, sense of brotherhood between the two countries is one of the most beautiful things in the film.”
Themes revolving around America’s relationship with the Middle East come up frequently in Affleck’s movies and the subject is one of his long-lasting interests. Although he never finished college, he majored in Middle Eastern studies and wrote papers on the topic.
Speaking from years of experience, Affleck said an actor’s interest in the theme of a film is reflected in his involvement and dedication to the film, and for him, this one was important.
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