“In America it’s called the Vietnam War. In Vietnam it’s called the American War.” During the pilot episode, HBO’s latest addition to Sunday night TV makes it clear that The Sympathizer is about the American War; a shift from the common perspective of the U.S soldier to the plight of the Vietnamese people. Directed by South Korean filmmaker, Park Chan-wook, and based on the Pulitzer-prize winning novel of the same name, the limited series (seven episodes) is equal parts satire, drama, and dark comedy.
Captain (played by Hoa Xuande) is a North Vietnamese double agent embedded in the South Vietnamese special police forces while also under the handle of a madcap CIA agent. It’s 1975 and the fall of Saigon is days away. Captain thinks he’ll be enjoying the imminent North Vietnamese victory, but instead is ordered to accompany the South Vietnamese General to America. Is this his fate? Continuing to spy on the General and the South Vietnamese refugees in the U.S.A.?
Captain is a walking contradiction. He attended school in the States and loves American pop culture. He is the son of a French priest and Vietnamese villager. He has two longtime best friends; one is a leader of the Vietcong, the other a South Vietnamese soldier. And he’s a spy.
Robert Downey Jr. plays Claude, the CIA agent. As the preview of the second episode showed, he also plays three other characters. Claude is a caricature and from a glimpse, the other characters are absurd, as well. On the heels of his Oscar for Oppenheimer, Downey is clearly having a ball.
There’s a lot going on in The Sympathizer. The first episode is complicated and sprawling with flashbacks, shifting timelines, and a toggling tone between war/violence and humor/satire. Despite these challenges, there’s plenty of reasons to keep watching and see where it goes. Filmed on location in Thailand with a Vietnamese cast authenticates the setting. We have rarely seen Vietnam as its stylish, historic, and contrasting self. Xuande compels as Captain is torn between his loyalties. Life in America will only exacerbate his struggles. So far, Captain actually is a sympathetic character.
(The Sympathizer premiered on HBO April 14th and is also streaming on Max. Note: Max will start streaming each episode at the same time it airs each Sunday on HBO, 9:00 PST).
D² Rating ◼◼◼◩☐
Trivia: Park Chan-wook also directed what 2018 espionage series starring Michael Shannon, Alexander Skarsgard, and Florence Pugh?
Answer below
Answer: The Little Drummer Girl