Recommendation: Charlie Wilson's War

[Lulu KC]

My husband and I kept remembering this movie over the last few weeks and we finally watched it tonight. (Available for rental on Prime)

It was a good refresher about some of the seeds that were planted in the 1980s in Afghanistan that we continue to watch develop. Very moving to watch, and great cast.

(Since it's a Hollywood movie based on a nonfiction book, there is debate about parts that are not 100% historically accurate. The overall point remains valid.)

[elleng]

1. It's a good one, have seen it several times.

Charlie Wilson's War is a 2007 American biographical comedy-drama film, based on the story of U.S. Congressman Charlie Wilson and CIA operative Gust Avrakotos, whose efforts led to Operation Cyclone, a program to organize and support the Afghan mujahideen during the Soviet–Afghan War.

The film was directed by Mike Nichols (his final film) and written by Aaron Sorkin, who adapted George Crile III's 2003 book Charlie Wilson's War: The Extraordinary Story of the Largest Covert Operation in History. Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, and Philip Seymour Hoffman starred.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Wilson%27s_War_(film)


Didn't realize Aaron Sorkin had written it until recently.

[sop]

2. Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts and Philip Seymour Hoffman were all excellent in that movie.

I don't think Trump saw that film. He must have been influenced by Rambo III, the one where Sylvester Stallone takes the side of the "heroic" Afghani mujahideen (Taliban) freedom fighters. In retrospect, that movie didn't age well at all.

What troubles me is the staggering amount of military equipment given to the Afghan Army in recent years...you know, so they could fight the Taliban after we left. All that deadly, hi-tech stuff just fell into their hands after our plucky US-backed Afghani forces dropped everything as they ran to the airport.