We’ve been getting some good historical POC film news as of late; first, we’ve had Karidja Touré and The Adventures of Selika, and now we have Oscar Isaac playing a real-life double agent in the WWII thriller The Garbo Network!
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Isaac will play Juan Pujol Garcia, a double-agent and eccentric who manages to trick both Great Britain and Germany into trusting him as a spy, despite having no military or spying experience to speak of. His true allegiance is with Britain, but the plan that ends up helping England gain the upper hand on Germany is all a big lie Garcia concocted. To quote The Hollywood Reporter:
“…[W]orking closely with MI-5, he created a fictional network of 27 spies said to be spread out over England, Scotland and Ireland, supplying him with critical information abot British troop movements and military planning. He actually made the whole thing up, but it was a turning opint in the war, enabling the English to decieve the Germans about the invasion of Normandy.”
The website also states that Garcia is the only man in the history of WWII to receive Medas of Honor from both Germany and Great Britain.
While a director isn’t attached to the film yet, Chuck Weinstock, one of the producers of the film (including Isaac) said that Isaac is one of the few actors who can pull this role off successfully.
“This is a tricky part,” he said. There are very few actors who can do both pathos and comic grandiosity. Oscar is one of them, and we feel very lucky to have him.”
It’s going be a very exciting time once this film comes to theaters. The more representation we get in our historical dramas, the better our overall history will be.
What do you think of Isaac in The Garbo Network? Give your opinions in the comments section below!