The Sympathizer (Vietnamese: Cảm tình viên) is a miniseries based on the 2015 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name by Viet Thanh Nguyen.
Cảm tình viên premiered on HBO (following previous miniseries The Regime) mid-April .
Produced by the powerhouse team A24 and Rhombus Media.
Cảm tình viên is based on the story of the Captain, a North Vietnam plant in the South Vietnam army. He is forced to flee to the United States with his general near the end of the Vietnam War. While living within a community of South Vietnamese refugees, he continues to secretly spy on the community and report back to the Viet Cong, struggling between his original loyalties and his new life.
So has HBO had a strong start to 2024? Well I wasn't 100% impressed by the long awaited return of True Detective: Night Country. The Regime missed the mark for me with it's attempt at comedy while The Sympathizer aimed high, impressed critics but I am sure HBO are excited that mid next month, the House of Dragon returns for it's long awaited second run.
The Sympathizer aimed for the heights, event getting Robert Downey Jr. in several roles. Some more bizarre than others. There was Claude, a CIA agent who mentors the Captain. Professor Robert Hammer, the Captain's Orientalist grad school professor along with Ned Godwin, a Congressman in Southern California trying to appeal to the local Vietnamese American population.
Lastly there was Niko Damianos, an auteur filmmaker making a film on the Vietnam War, based on Francis Ford Coppola.
Australian Hoa Xuande as the Captain, really was the centre of the entire series. From the end of the war, fall of Saigon to his trip to the USA.
The fall of Saigon, airport, runway scene at the start of the seven episode run, was truly epic.
This was the best miniseries/short running series HBO has given us this year. You can catch all episodes streaming now on Binge.
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