Beirut

Engaging, riveting, eye-opening, dramatic political thriller. The story of Beirut in the 80's when it was the proxy war playground of choice for Russia, Iran, PLO, Israel, and the U.S. Probably this is a good film regardless of your political leanings since it allows you to see whatever politics you bring, and allows you to reinforce your belief system. The story follows Jon Hamm, who is a former political operator in Lebanon. He is called back into the country to help negotiate the release of a prisoner, the current CIA chief of station for the entire mid-east... and his former closest friend... and a guy somehow responsible for his wife's death. With my political leanings, I saw the massive arrogance of the political powers (the U.S. in CIA and Defense Intelligence), the unintended consequences of violence as a solution to violence, the feigned naive surprise of said consequences manifesting, the subterfuge and self-centered nature of clandestine operators, the complete lack of value for human life, the inability (and unwillingness) to accept responsibility for pervasive violence, the nonchalant attitude toward human suffering of others, etc. etc. etc. I suppose you can watch it as a fictional drama, but I believe the sentiment and moral posturing are more the reality.

4 stars (out of 5)