March 2003,
Joint forces led by the United States and Britain launched military operations against Iraq.
This seven-year war,
Although the U.S.-British coalition overthrew Saddam's regime in the end and won,
But including the two sides caused a total of about 150,000 casualties,
It's a pity.
And before that,
A British female agent named Catherine Gan,
Discover the terrifying secret behind this war.
In order to prevent the tragedy of the war from happening, she decided to make it public,
But was jailed for it.
Gavin Hood, the South African director who won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film for his "Gangsters",
Following the last high-profile anti-war film "Eye in the Sky",
In the story of British female agent Katherine Gan,
Directed the new film "Official Secrets" released in the United States in August 2019.
The actress who played Katherine in the film,
He has starred in "Atonement", "Pride and Prejudice", "Pirates of the Caribbean" and other high-profile works.
Household actress Keira Knightley.
The actors who co-star with her in this film are,
British national treasure actor Ralph Fiennes who played Voldemort in "Harry Potter",
Plays Katherine's defense attorney in the film.
And Matt Smith, the actor of the male protagonist in the high-profile American drama "The Crown",
This time he plays a reporter for the Observer.
The story of the film takes place a year before the Iraq War.
Catherine, a female agent working in the British intelligence service,
Received a top secret document from the United States.
The contents of the document say,
In order to pursue the rationality of launching the Iraq War, the United States,
Need to win the votes of more countries in the United Nations.
It needs the cooperation of the British Intelligence Department to monitor member states to collect intelligence,
to help the United States achieve its ultimate goal.
During a TV interview,
US President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair,
In order to find a better reason for waging war,
He did not hesitate to make up the big lie that "Iraq has weapons of mass destruction",
to create for themselves the "legitimacy" of a reasonable war.
Katherine, who has been working in the intelligence department for a long time,
I've had enough of the lies and hypocrisy above.
In the face of a war that is about to break out with mass casualties,
She thought she should stand up and do something,
I don't want to live the rest of my life in lies and deceit.
Catherine took great risks,
Bring this document out of the Intelligence Service's office.
She put the document in the hands of a trusted anti-war activist,
It is hoped that the contents of which will be made public through
Make it impossible for the United States and Britain to legally wage war,
to prevent a catastrophe.
This document goes round and round,
It ended up in the hands of the Observer reporter Martin.
At first Martin was deeply skeptical of the authenticity of the source,
and the newspaper where he works,
I have always worked closely with 10 Downing Street,
If this news is made public, it will definitely affect the political relations of the newspaper.
Martin came to a crossroads of choice.
Through the constant inquiries of reliable informants,
Martin learned the truth of the news.
After finally persuading the newspaper boss and opposing colleagues,
He decided to publish it on the front page.
This article instantly became the storm center of public opinion,
The whole world is in chaos.
However, due to the operation error of Martin's assistant,
Changed the American spelling in the original text of the intelligence to British.
The Observer, which left the handle,
Being frantically "refuted rumors" by the Internet and the media,
It also directly caused this "rumor" to fail to have an impact on the overall situation.
The Iraq War is still on.
The U.S.-British coalition sow war on Iraqi territory,
The United Kingdom has also begun to catch "traitors" closely.
Catherine, who failed to stop the war, was very sad,
Believing that your naivete might hurt your family and friends.
In the face of high-pressure collective interrogation,
Catherine eventually had a nervous breakdown and decided to turn herself in.
Katherine after surrendering,
Sent to prison immediately,
and in accordance with the relevant regulations,
She was charged with "treason".
Although Catherine surrendered herself,
In exchange for the freedom of my friends and colleagues.
But her Turkish husband,
Not so lucky,
He was almost deported back to Turkey by the police, but it was a near miss.
Catherine, who was temporarily released from prison,
I found Ben Emerson, a lawyer who specializes in political cases.
Ben believes that Katherine's behavior of leaking information,
just to avoid war,
It did not sell the interests of its own country to the enemy.
She can be defended through publicity rights, human rights and other aspects.
After a long preparation,
Catherine, standing on the court, shouted "not guilty" for herself.
However, the purpose of knocking the mountain and shaking the tiger has been achieved,
The prosecutor who hoped that the matter would be a minor one suddenly applied to the judge,
The indictment against her for "treason" was dropped.
Catherine finally gained a sudden freedom,
The U.S.-British coalition took many years,
No weapons of mass destruction have been found in Iraq.
Although it failed to prevent the coming of war,
But Katherine Gunn's brave act,
are constantly inspiring people,
Only with courage, justice will never be late!
Katherine Gan, the original character of the story,
After losing his job as an intelligence officer,
Former colleagues were worried about intelligence agencies listening,
Don't even dare to call her.
10 years from 2003 to 2013,
She ran for life, and the financial difficulties were the most difficult.
Today, Catherine has a daughter,
A family of three came to Turkey, the husband's hometown, and settled here.
Official Secrets continues director Gavin Hood's anti-war theme. The overall rhythm is acceptable, and the anti-climax ending can be said to be the finishing touch.
Due to the existence of prototype characters and real events, the adaptation of the film text is too process and not bold enough. There is also a lack of deeper excavation on the motives and changes of the heroine's decision to disclose information.
Like the story it tells, the release (public) significance of the film "Official Secrets" is far greater than its actual significance. Friends who are interested in the Iraq War may wish to take a look.
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