The Sympathizer
Summary
The Vietnam War is a conflict that lives long in the American ethnic memory , influencing countless moving-picture show and TV shows , while rarely treat the impact it had on the Vietnamese citizenry . HBO ’s satirical spy thriller , The Sympathizer , question this American linear perspective with a great deal of card and flaunt ofOldboydirector Park Chan - wook ’s warmheartedness for the absurd . conform from Viet Thanh Nguyen ’s 2015 novel by Park with his co - writer Don McKellar , The Sympathizeris a compulsive wake experience that greatly rewards our attention as an consultation .
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Cast
Based on the novel by Viet Thanh Nuyen , The Sympathizer explore the last day of the Vietnam War through the eyes of a half - Vietnamese , half - French undercover agent serving for the communist government . The TV series adaptation is localize - up as a mini - series and will likely still be framed as a confession from the agonist as they make their way through the warfare . Photo is of the original novel cover charge .
While the promotion ofThe Sympathizerleans intemperately on the multiple role played byOscar winning actor Robert Downey Jr. , it ’s the carrying out ofCowboy Bebop ’s Hoa Xuande as The Captain that really shines . The Logos of a Vietnamese female parent and a Gallic father , it ’s bring out The Captain always struggled to go into Vietnamese club , even before the war . This struggle becomes more marked when The Captain becomes a communistic mole within South Vietnam ’s pro - capitalistic government . Describing himself as a " valet de chambre of two faces",The Captain ’s political and cultural identity crisis is what makesThe Sympathizer ’s protagonist so compelling .
The Sympathizer Is A Gripping Spy Thriller With A Wicked Sense Of Humor
The Sympathizerbegins in the final days before the Fall of Saigon and the destruction of the Vietnam War , meaning the bulk of the activeness takes place in the wake . hop to finally live in a free Vietnam , The Captain discover that his mission is not over , and he must flee to keep an eye on The General ( Toan Lee ) and describe back on his activities . Cut off from his Viet Cong manager , and hale to correspond only by letters , The Captain is forced to make some huge decisiveness to maintain his cover , providing a great trade of dramatic tension .
Park Chan - wook and Don McKellar ’s scripts handle these bit beautifully , puncture the latent hostility with minute of banality and humor ; a discussion about the proper footwear for a political character assassination , for example . These blackly comic moments never undermine the built-in tension of The Captain ’s predicament , instead lendingThe Sympathizera heightened absurdist tone that is utter for the show ’s satirical messaging . The writing is full of memorably sharp laughable dialogue , too , and blood like " America ! They deplete your heart and kick about indigestion " , live long in the memory board after the final credits roll .
As well as co - writing the series , Park Chan - wook guide episodes 1 to 3 ofThe Sympathizer .
Robert Downey Jr. Is Literally An American Institution
The Oppenheimer star plays four distinct wings of the American establishment
While there ’s a danger that theIron Manstar whole steal the show , the pick to have Robert Downey Jr. encounter four distinct wing of the American constitution inThe Sympathizeris an inspired one . In an accompanying statement to all seven episodes ofThe Sympathizer , the showrunners say they " wanted to exemplify how the divisions of the American establishment are intertwined and in connivance " . Indeed , Downey Jr ’s ingratiating but quiet malevolent CIA human , racially allow Oriental Studies professor , tangle senator and egomaniac film director comprehend four of America ’s biggest institutions — intelligence , academia , government , and entertainment .
the laughable claptrap of the fictional motion picture , entitledThe Hamlet , feels like a more open recall to Robert Downey Jr. inTropic Thunder …
The four lineament ' plan for The Captain are all patronizingly presented to the Vietnamese undercover agent , as if they ’re doing him a favour . One of the most gross " favors " offered to The Captain is the opportunity to consult on a Vietnam War picture show in episode 4.There are obvious parallel pull withApocalypse Nowin the form of David Duchovny ’s unhinged method acting actor , and the absurd bombast of the fancied moving-picture show , entitledThe Hamlet , feels like a more open callback toRobert Downey Jr. inTropic Thunderthan the multiple wigs , voice , and prosthetics he applies to dally each role .
The fact that these roles are played by an player who was so embedded in the Hollywood colossus that was the Marvel Cinematic Universe further highlight how the American media is the dominant spheric personnel …
It ’s hugely entertaining to watch The Captain get one up on these American institutions , from the dismission of his former prof ’s record as " antiblack trash " to smuggle pro - Communist propaganda into a Hollywood flick . However , despite The Captain ’s underage victory against these institutions , they seldom last for long , proving that America and capitalism always win in the remainder . That these function are fiddle by an actor who was so embedded in the Hollywood colossus that was the Marvel Cinematic Universe further highlights how the American media is the prevailing planetary force , dictate the tone of wider political and ethnic conversation .
The Sympathizer Is A Powerful Story Of Enduring Friendship
WhileThe Sympathizeris a seasonable take on a world fraction by political political orientation , slipstream , and cultural differences , there ’s a timeless story of friendship at its heart . The Captain ’s two best friends , Man ( Duy Nguyen ) and Bon ( Fred Nguyen Khan ) are also divided by political political theory , but the brush between North and South Vietnam seldom encroaches on their bond . urge by Alexandre Dumas’The Three Musketeers , a novel presumptively instruct by Vietnam ’s Gallic colonizers , they live by a code of " all for one and one for all " despite Bon fighting for the very side that Man and The Captain oppose .
… this does mean that female characters , like Sandra Oh ’s Sofia , are criminally underused .
As refugees , Bon and The Captain become roommates , further blurring the limit between The Captain ’s mission and his loyalty to his supporter on both face of the water parting . Despite likely making love interestingness in the form of The General ’s girl Lana ( Vy Lee ) and Ms. Sofia Mori ( Sandra Oh ) , the veridical love tale is that between The Captain and his two rip sidekick . regrettably , this does think that the female part , like Sandra Oh ’s Sofia , are reprehensively underused . However , it ’s important to point out thatThe Sympathizer ’s focus on the three friends from dissimilar political sympathies is progressive in itself .
Vietnam war moviesrarely focus on the stories of those Vietnamese soldiers who fight alongside the Americans , only to end up a stateless refugee or wedge into reprogramming camps . By telling a story about three Vietnamese manpower , dissever politically , but bonded by something deeper , The Sympathizertells a story of the Vietnam War that many of us have n’t fancy before . say that taradiddle while appropriating the genre trapping of the Hollywood spy movie on primetime HBO is whyThe Sympathizeris such a subversive dainty .
The Sympathizerpremieres Sunday , April 14 at 9 pm ET on HBO .
