Fair Game - Nothing is more dangerous than the truth

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Movie
German title Fair Game - Nothing is more dangerous than the truth
Original title Fair game
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 2010
length 108 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
JMK 10
Rod
Director Doug Liman
script Jez Butterworth ,
John-Henry Butterworth
production Bill Pohlad ,
Janet Zucker ,
Jerry Zucker ,
Akiva Goldsman ,
Doug Liman,
Jez Butterworth
music John Powell
camera Doug Liman
cut Christopher Tellefsen
occupation

Fair Game - Nothing is more dangerous than the truth (original title: Fair Game , English for " fair game " and "fair play") is an American political thriller directed by Doug Liman from 2010. treated The plot of the film mainly the exposure of the former CIA agent Valerie Plame, who became known through the Plame affair .

action

Valerie Plame is a CIA agent . They are used in covert operations in alleged crisis areas. She is married to Joseph C. Wilson , who was an American diplomat and ambassador to several African countries as well as Iraq and later a special advisor on foreign policy issues. The two are parents of twins. Valerie Plame leads a double life at home, except for her husband and her parents, no one is privy to her work as a CIA agent.

A few months have passed since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 . The secret service is working on behalf of the government under increasing pressure to uncover any masterminds and supporters of the attacks. Information comes from government circles that Saddam Hussein bought 500 tons of yellow cake for the production of nuclear weapons in Niger and had it brought to Iraq. The CIA should check these references and verify them if possible.

In search of a suitable expert who could be entrusted with this mission, Valerie's superior Bill asks the agent whether her husband is the right person for this assignment and whether he can take it over. She agrees; Joe still has excellent contacts in the state in West Africa and is familiar with the country and its people. Joe Wilson is now traveling to Niger on behalf of the secret service, but he cannot find any evidence there that the sale of the uranium ore took place. In addition, a delivery of specially assembled aluminum tubes aroused the interest of the investigators. However, the CIA concludes that the tubes are not suitable for uranium enrichment.

Meanwhile, Valerie Plame is working on gaining more information. She convinces a young Iraqi doctor to visit her brother Hamed, who works as a scientist for the Iraqi government, and to ask him about the nuclear program. The interviews lead to the realization that the Iraqi nuclear program was discontinued after the destruction by the Americans in the 1990s.

In January 2003, President George W. Bush publicly announced that Iraq had obtained uranium from Africa. For these alleged reasons, the latter then has Baghdad bombed first and then American troops march into Iraq.

Joseph Wilson writes an opinion piece for the New York Times , published July 6, 2003. He vividly describes why he is convinced that the Bush administration absolutely wanted to go to war, even if it had to lie and deceive. Just a week later, a response in the form of a column by Robert Novak follows: In it, the conservative journalist writes that Joseph Wilson was (although) never an agent of the CIA, but his wife was - thus exposing Valerie Plame. After this article is published, Valerie is immediately withdrawn from active duty with the CIA and her friends turn away from her.

The exposure of Valerie endangers the lives of a group of scientists in Iraq who were supposed to leave the country with her help. She asks her superiors to take this action, but they refuse. The scientists' most important contacts are thus lost and they are left to their own devices.

In the media, Valerie is now portrayed as a third-rate agent who was exclusively employed as a subordinate, her husband is discredited as a busybody. Joseph Wilson does not want to put up with this and begins an argument about the truth in the media.

The political affair is increasingly becoming an ordeal for Valerie and Joseph's marriage. Although both are convinced that they have done the right thing and are responsible for the actions of the other, they react completely differently to the crisis. While Valerie withdraws and is silent, Joseph goes public with his opinion.

Lewis Scooter Libby , an adviser to US Vice President Richard Cheney, was the White House informant and ultimately faces court for exposing Valerie Plame. At the end Valerie and Joseph find each other again. Valerie breaks her silence and publicly testifies before the committee of inquiry into the affair.

background

The film is based on a true story that came to be known as the Plame Affair or Plamegate . The sources for the film were the books "The Politics of Truth" by Joseph Carter Wilson and "Fair Game" by Valerie Plame Wilson.

Joseph Wilson was the last American diplomat to meet with Saddam Hussein after Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990 (see: Second Gulf War ). He personally demanded the immediate withdrawal of Iraqi troops. Thanks to Joseph Wilson's work, many Americans were able to leave Iraq unscathed before he left the country himself.

Joseph Wilson was sent to Niger by the US government to seek confirmation of reports that the Iraqi government had purchased large quantities of uranium there. On the spot, he concluded that the rumors were untrue and fictitious. The Bush administration, however, brushed this discovery under the rug. When the White House used the fictitious uranium purchase as evidence that Iraq was on the verge of producing nuclear weapons, Joseph Wilson published an article in the New York Times setting out his version of the story and describing his findings came on his trip to Niger. As a result, the identity of Valerie Plame as a secret agent was revealed. The initially unnamed source was a high-ranking official in the Bush administration. " That story couldn't have been made up, " said producer Janet Zucker.

criticism

“In the first half of the film, Liman stages a great scene in which Plame and Wilson sit at the dining table with their friends and each of the guests shares their own theory about Saddam Hussein. Plame and Wilson keep looking at each other because they both have important information about the situation in Iraq - but are not allowed to disclose it. But they are the only ones who suspect what is really going on politically and militarily. At the end of the film there is no longer a corner of your privacy that is not spied on. "

- Lars-Olav Beier : The mirror

“The vile act of revenge by the Bush administration to silence and discredit unpleasant critics is not only morally reprehensible and illegal, but it also has a direct impact on people's lives. In general, 'Fair Game' brilliantly balances the political and the private and makes it clear how the increasing isolation of the married couple, which has been discredited in public, is becoming a touchstone, which is ultimately overcome somewhat comfortably in a showdown in which the film is bad poses and sends his message with the steam hammer. He is still wholeheartedly forgiven for this somewhat artificial Frank Capra moment. He earned it with intelligent and engaging entertainment. Doug Liman rises to the very first ranks of Hollywood directors. "

- kino.de

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Certificate of Approval for Fair Game - Nothing is more dangerous than the truth . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , November 2010 (PDF; test number: 125 120 K).
  2. ↑ Age rating for fair game - nothing is more dangerous than the truth . Youth Media Commission .
  3. ↑ Human anti-personnel mine with a sensitive trigger. Spiegel Online , May 20, 2010, accessed November 25, 2010 .
  4. ↑ REVIEW. Kino.de , accessed on November 25, 2010 .