TV-MA | 4 episodes | Documentary | Sept. 28, 2022
Jacques Mallet du Pan famously wrote of the French Revolution, “like Saturn, the Revolution devours its children.” That is equally true of Iran’s 1979 Revolution. Few Iranians wanted to be ruled by a theocratic regime, but the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini shrewdly exploited the international crisis to shape the new government and install himself as its supreme leader.
Both the American hostages and the Iranian hostage-takers look back on the extended ordeal in the four-part documentary “Hostages,” which premieres on HBO.
The first episode is largely dedicated to explaining the complicated relationship America shared with Iran, particularly our involvement in the 1953 coup and our long-standing support of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, without mentioning the American government’s successful efforts pressuring the Soviets to withdraw from their occupation of Iran after World War II.
Embassy Stormed
Anyone who grew up in the 1980s will remember the news graphics marking each day of captivity for the Americans taken hostage when our embassy in Tehran was stormed by students loyal to Khomeini, the Islamist cleric, who was not yet officially associated with the Iranian government.Yet, there are a lot of details viewers might have forgotten, like the first aborted embassy invasion, now referred to as the “Valentine’s Day Open House.” That incident is why the Carter administration hoped cooler heads would again prevail in September 1979. Instead, 52 Americans were held in often harsh conditions for 444 days.
Lessons to Learn
There are a lot of lessons to learn from “Hostages,” including Carter’s ill-conceived public assurances he would not take any military actions that might endanger the hostages, which largely tied his own hands.
Frankly, “Hostages” provides a better organized, more insightful treatment of the ill-fated “Eagle Claw” rescue mission than Barbara Kopple’s documentary on the incident, “Desert One.” Although generally critical of the Shah, “Hostages” also allows the Shah’s American spokesman, Robert Armao, a fair opportunity to speak of his former boss, which gives the multi-part doc a good degree of balance.
Asgharzadeh, a former student hostage taker, now considered a reformist-opposition political figure, is comparatively measured and reflective in his analysis of events, ultimately expressing some regret for his actions and their consequences.
Not so for Masoumeh Ebtekar, the English-speaking spokesperson for the hostage takers, who is clearly just as extreme in her Islamist ideology today as she was in 1979.
The battery of directors (Abbas Ahmadi Motlagh, Maro Chermayeff, Sam Pollard, Joshua Bennett, and Jeff Durpe) never directly challenges Ebtekar during her interview segments, but Ebtekar’s spin is often contradicted by former American hostages, especially Michael Metrinko, who can always be counted on for punchy, unvarnished candor throughout “Hostages.”
Metrinko’s oral history should also permanently tarnish the legacy of leftist clergyman William Sloane Coffin, who presided over a propaganda service for the hostages that resulted in a beating for Metrinko when he failed to participate with adequate enthusiasm.
Metrinko’s fellow hostage John Limbert never whitewashes their captors’ abusive treatment either, but he repeatedly makes an important point. He argues the Iranian citizens themselves were the greatest victims of the Hostage Crisis because it directly produced an even more oppressive regime for them.
New Protests
In fact, “Hostages” arrives at a time when young Iranians are taking to the streets to protest the suspicious death of Masha Amini while she was held in the custody of the notorious morality police.
This is not the first time Iranians have taken to the streets demonstrating against Ayatollahs’ regime. Starting with the Green Wave protests of 2009, brave Iranians regularly risked their lives for the sake of change, rejecting and rebuking the ideology of the original hostage-takers like Ebtekar.
Politically astute viewers will groan when they see former Carter administration official Gary Sick appear in “Hostages.” He only briefly discusses his so-called “October Surprise” conspiracy theory, which alleged that the Reagan campaign colluded with the Iranians to keep the hostages in captivity until after the election.
Robert Gates, who served as Defense Secretary under Obama, vigorously dismisses the charges on-camera, but “Hostages” never mentions the two Congressional investigations that determined the allegations were completely unfounded.
Frankly, the “Hostages”’ editorial team should have ignored Sick altogether because his conspiracy mongering detracts from an otherwise authoritative examination of a notorious international tragedy.
It is clear from the demonstrations happening right now, the Iranian regime has no legitimacy. “Hostages” explains how they grabbed the power they so violently abuse. It is timely and instructive.
