DESERT ONE – Review

So, who’s up for a movie history lesson? No, not about the history of cinema, but rather a look back at a time that often feels not that long ago, but with others, it may be “olden days”. Now don’t groan and whine about “homework” because this is a compelling look at an incident that was shrouded in mystery at its time. Plus the folks involved, from both sides of this conflict, are talking to one of our most celebrated and honored documentarians. You might recall a fleeting mention of this event in 2012’s Best Picture Oscar winner ARGO. Now with many articles declassified, we can learn the facts behind this mission from just over 40 years ago. Some called it Operation Eagle Claw, others dubbed it Operation Tabas, but it all rested on the spot in the sand, the landing and refueling site known as DESERT ONE.

Using newsreel and archival footage we got a brief backstory as the film begins. In 1953 Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, known by most as the Shah, took over Iran with the rumored help of United States undercover forces (particularly the CIA). Each new US president maintained close ties to the Shah despite reports of the brutality of his regime (mass graves of executed citizens). Finally, in 1979 he was overthrown by the Iranian Revolution led by religious leader Ayatollah Khomeini. The Shah fled to Egypt, and soon flew to the US for cancer treatment. Things came to a boiling point when the Muslim Student Followers of the Imam’s Line stormed the US embassy in Tehran taking fifty-two American citizens hostage on November 4, 1979. Their main demand was that the Shah be returned there to stand trial. Then-President James Carter attempted to end the stalemate through negotiations, but the occupying group, who had the full support of Khomeini, would not budge. As the week dragged into months, Carter was under pressure, particularly from the GOP nominee Ronald Reagan, to use military force to rescue the hostages. But the president was adamant about bringing them home alive and well. As the country seethed with frustration, Carter was secretly working with members of the Delta Force on a rescue plan, Operation Eagle Claw. They would drop in from the nearby stationed USS Nimitz via several RH53D helicopters along with C-130 transport aircraft for refueling. In the late afternoon of April 24, 1980, they initiated the mission. But things were not going there way almost from the start. Two of the eight choppers broke down, dust storms hindered their vision, and several vehicles, including a tourist-filled bus, suddenly appeared. But when the plans were scrapped, one of the copters, crashed into a C-130 causing a massive fire that claimed the lives of eight soldiers. The remainder quickly flew back to the Nimitz, leaving the bodies behind. When the wreckage was found near Tabas, Iranians celebrated as Carter accepted the blame for the failed mission on a televised address. He lost the election, and on the day of Reagan’s inauguration, Iran put the hostages on a plane bound for the US base in Germany before heading back to the states. After 444 days they were going home.

And just who is the award-winning filmmaker behind this? It’s two-time Oscar winner Barbara Koppel, who’s been making documentaries for the big and small screen for 44 years. She’s at the top of her game with this fascinating look at a real defining time for the late 20th century, especially in the area of foreign diplomacy. As mentioned there are many sequences culled from archival footage, from old newsreels to network video, but Kopple delves much deeper with some incredible new interviews. We talk to Iranians who were part of the siege (then, their biggest prime-time TV show was a program instructing viewers about using automatic weapons against a possible US invasion), some of the hostages (including Sgt. Kevin Hermening whose mother was allowed to visit him at the embassy), many of the special ops officers, and even President Carter and Vice-President Walter Mondale. And the newsman most associated with the crisis, Ted Koppel, whose weeknight updates became the still ongoing late evening news magazine “Nightline”. Plus there are clips of his contemporaries who signed off their newscasts with countdown/reminders (this is day 97). Of course, this fanned the flames of frustration which Reagan used to his advantage in many snippets. Carter was perceived as weak because he would not go in guns blazing, fatalities be damned. It’s evident that this part of his presidency still haunts him along with those would-be rescuers left behind (the Red Cross eventually brought the bodies home for burial). One of the film’s greatest assets is the release of the actual recorded phone calls between the Oval offices and the officers in communication with the Delta team (“Hold for the President…go ahead”). You can hear the tension in those audio pieces. But the most powerful scenes are those that visualize that fateful April night. Over the interviews of the soldiers, Kopple uses a form of limited animation (in advertising these were dubbed “animatics” which helped show a client what a finished TV spot would play), that feels like a gritty graphic novel brought to life. Figures move with camera pans, while motion is simulated via quick dissolves, as the audio effects drive home the chaos and carnage. This technique is also utilized as several hostages talk about the late-night “phony executions” which debunks the Iranians’ tales of “great treatment”. But the real “gut puncher” footage may be the footage of the Iranians putting the charred corpses on display for their TV news, leading to celebrations saying that God stepped in to stop the “evildoers”. After four decades it still stings as those there that night still see their fallen comrades screaming in agony as they close their eyes to fitful rest. And now the old copters are part of a playground, with tots climb down the blades. What stays longest may be the message one of the US team got from a British soldier, who scribbled on ragged cardboard that he still carries, “…thanks for trying”. DESERT ONE echoes this sentiment as one of this year’s best documentary features, informative and very moving.

Three and a Half Out of Four

DESERT ONE is playing at select theatres and screens exclusively in the St. Louis area at Landmark’s Plaza Frontenac Cinemas