Spy stories have all the ingredients necessary for excellent television: there’s suspense, double-dealing, and the possibility for many, many wigs. In the sympathizer, Most of them are worn by Robert Downey, Jr.
Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Viet Thanh Nguyen, The sympathizer looks like our next big spy obsession. A groundbreaking adaptation of an acclaimed Vietnamese work, it marks Park Chan-wook’s return to television five years after his excellent 2018 AMC miniseries The little drummer girl. (And a year after the release of one of the best movies of 2022, decision to go.)
Following its dizzying source material, which happily jumps from genre to genre, with a dizzyingly recursive narrative about an anonymous North Vietnamese spy embedded in the South Vietnamese army who, among other things, emigrate to the United States for an absurd film production — the trailer for The sympathizer is wonderfully confusing.
With Hoa Xuande as the protagonist (aka “The Captain”), the trailer gives us a glimpse into that of the Captain catch-22-like spy journey where he appears to encounter several characters, all played by Robert Downey Jr. set around the Vietnam War.
From the footage shown The sympathizer appears to be both a worthy adaptation of a rich novel and another exhibition for Park Chan-wook’s impressive spy thrillers.
The sympathizer Premieres live on HBO and on Max Streaming in 2024.
