The film plays all the hits, unpacking the lyrics behind an entire verse of “We Didn’t Start the Fire” as Khomeini abolishes the Iranian monarchy in 1979, the exiled Shah of Iran comes to the United States for medical treatment later that year, and Iranian students - outraged over Carter’s refusal to extradite the Shah for his crimes - seize the U.S.
One of the first soundbites we hear from Kopple’s subjects is that most Americans don’t remember what happened during the Iran hostage crisis, and “Desert One” endeavors to walk us through it step-by-step.
It’s a discordantly clean and contained overview of a mess that changed the world. There’s a warm-hearted empathy in Kopple’s unwillingness to assign blame (to anyone), and also in her obvious respect for Carter’s faith in diplomacy, but “Desert One” is mostly devoted to nailing this story down before everyone who lived it has died and the thoughts and feelings they experienced are petrified into cold fact. While certain themes organically emerge from the film’s uncomplicated mesh of archival footage, talking head interviews, and dashes of evocative but needless animation by Iranian artist Zartosht Soltani, Kopple seems less interested in interrogating abstract notions of heroism or the nature of “strong” American leadership than she is in suggesting that history is hard to parse from the inside out. Everyone short of Ayatollah Khomeini and Ronald Reagan appears on camera to reflect on the events of Ap(and the months of failed diplomacy leading up to it) and how they went FUBAR in a way that continues to ripple through the world today. Most of the major players involved in the Iran hostage crisis are here to offer their side of the story from Walter Mondale and an especially wistful President Jimmy Carter to the soldiers involved in the catastrophic Operation Eagle Claw, the American hostages they were hoping to free, and even a handful of their Iranian captors. There are worse things, of course, and Kopple unpacks what happened with an authority that will make “Desert One” essential viewing for students of modern history and/or diehard “Argo” fans eager to better contextualize Ben Affleck’s caper. Oscars 2023: Best Costume Design Predictions Quentin Tarantino's Favorite Movies: 40 Films the Director Wants You to See 'Stay on Board' Review: Trans Skateboarder Leo Baker Kickflips History 'Beast' Review: When Idris Elba Fights a Lion, You'll Root for the Lion
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