Westerners speak of the Vietnam War, the Vietnamese of the American War. A difference in name highlighted by the series “The Sympathizer” which starts this Monday, April 15 on the Warner Pass (paid option in addition to the Prime Video subscription). Adapted from the eponymous book by Viet Thanh Nguyen, winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 2016, this fiction is co-created by South Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook, who also directed the first three parts.
The hero and narrator, nicknamed the Captain, is a communist spy, rallied to the cause of the northern part of his country at war against the South and its American allies. In 1975, when Saigon was on the verge of falling, he was infiltrated within the secret police, and pretended to work in the service of the General, a strong man in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. He is then responsible for preparing the withdrawal of his men towards the United States, defeat being imminent. The Captain will also find himself forced to continue his espionage mission on American territory.
The first episode of “The Sympathizer”, available on the Warner Pass from this Monday, April 15 (a part will then be added each week), is quite breathtaking. Between narrative breaks, flashbacks and an ending scene of hallucinatory intensity, Park Chan-wook guides the viewer to better immerse them in this scenario which never ceases to surprise, even confusing afterwards.
Comedy as much as tragedy, political satire and quest for identity, historical story and spy thriller: “The Sympathizer” plays on all levels. It is therefore difficult to maintain end-to-end consistency. As soon as the director of the films “Old Boy”, “Mademoiselle” and the mini-series “The Little Drummer Girl”, entrusted the camera to others (the Brazilian Fernando Meirelles for episode 4, the Englishman Marc Munden for the last three) the whole thing falls apart a little.
Hoa Xuande’s acting nuances create all the ambiguity of the hero
Fortunately, the performance of Australian actor of Vietnamese origin Hoa Xuande helps cement everything. The actor brilliantly plays the Captain. This character, born to a Vietnamese mother and a French father, has been torn since his birth between the East and the West. A tear then exacerbated by his destiny as a spy. The nuances of the performer’s play perfectly convey all the ambiguity of the hero. He tells his story from a Vietnamese re-education camp run by his communist comrades who seem to doubt the veracity of his words and his dedication to their cause.
Opposite Hoa Xuande, a real revelation, the recent Oscar winner Robert Downey Jr plays no less than four roles. All are different incarnations of American imperialism, crossed by the Captain, from a CIA agent to a politician to a university professor to a Hollywood film director.
This choice of a single actor for these multiple figures is an excellent idea full of meaning and allows the interpreter of “Iron Man” to have fun with various scores. Note also the presence in the credits of Sandra Oh (“Grey’s Anatomy”, “Killing Eve”) as an American of Japanese origin who will not leave the Captain indifferent. We also furtively come across David Duchovny and, more unusual, the Frenchwoman Marine Delterme.
“The Sympathizer” sometimes seems to be searching for its own identity, like its hero, but notably succeeds in painting a captivating and nuanced picture of a particularly delicate period of history where the American point of view is too often over-represented.