Aranya Doloi
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“Just because you’re the prime minister doesn’t mean you get to make up your own facts”- Katherine Gun says as she watches then British PM Tony Blair claim in front of the world that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has weapons of mass destruction.
Katherine Gun was a Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) translator, who in 2003 tried to do her bit to prevent UK and USA’s invasion of Iraq. And Keira Knightley stepped into this translator’s shoes and plays the role of Katherine Gun in the movie ‘Official Secrets’. In the first trailer released, Knightley gives us a glimpse at her determined performance as a political whistle blower.
‘Official Secrets‘ is based on the ‘untold true story’ of Katherine Gun’s whistle blowing, as recounted in the book ‘The Spy Who Tried to Stop a War’ by Thomas Mitchell and Marcia Mitchell. Directed by ‘Eye In The Sky’ filmmaker Gavin Hood, the movie sees Knightley joined by a British cast including Ralph Fiennes, Matt Smith and Matthew Goode.
In the trailer, Katherine Gun is seen becoming infuriated with Tony Blair, who is shown through old video clips, before discovering an email by a US National Security Agency official. She puts her life and career at risk and leaked the email that shouted out for British help to bug the homes and offices in New York belonging to UN diplomats from six countries. Gun insisted that their support over Iraqi invasion would be vital. The email had hit headlines on a national newspaper and Gun was charged with breaking the Official Secrets Act. The thriller movie follows the story as Katherine and how lawyers set out to defend her actions.
‘Official Secrets’, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January is set to hit the screens later this year.
