HBO's The Sympathizer takes Viet Thanth Nguyen's award-winning novel and crafts a story that goes beyond the historical hyperbole so familiar to those of us who were growing up during the Vietnam war. Hoa Xuande plays The Captain, who walks a typical spy-vs-spy tightrope which never feels stale, thanks to the crisp writing and fast-moving direction teams. He's tasked with working for a South Vietnamese general as Saigon begins its fall in April of 1975 and he feverishly tries to juggle his official duties with his covert operations as a communist spy for North Vietnam.
Robert Downy Jr. Romps through the era as CIA operative Claude, who works with The Captain through the evacuation from Saigon and re-integration into American society. Sandra Oh makes her appearance stateside during episode two, bantering about the inherent racism within Orientalism and bedding our hero for fun.
Viewers will undoubtedly be emotionally and politically divided in their response to The Sympathizer, but HBO offers us a multi-faceted point of view about the Asian people who lived through the Vietnam War, and their post-survival journey.
Robert Downy Jr. Romps through the era as CIA operative Claude, who works with The Captain through the evacuation from Saigon and re-integration into American society. Sandra Oh makes her appearance stateside during episode two, bantering about the inherent racism within Orientalism and bedding our hero for fun.
Viewers will undoubtedly be emotionally and politically divided in their response to The Sympathizer, but HBO offers us a multi-faceted point of view about the Asian people who lived through the Vietnam War, and their post-survival journey.