Wasp Network (film)

Wasp Network is a 2019 internationally co-produced drama film, written and directed by Olivier Assayas, based upon the book The Last Soldiers of the Cold War by Fernando Morais. It stars Penélope Cruz, Édgar Ramírez, Gael García Bernal, Ana de Armas and Wagner Moura. It tells the true story of Cuban spies in American territory during the 1990s.[8][9]

Wasp Network
Official release poster
Directed byOlivier Assayas
Produced by
Screenplay byOlivier Assayas
Based onThe Last Soldiers of the Cold War
by Fernando Morais
Starring
Music byEduardo Cruz
Cinematography
Edited bySimon Jacquet
Production
company
  • Orange Studio
  • RT Features
  • CG Cinéma
  • Nostromo Pictures
  • Scope Pictures
  • Memento Films
  • France 2 Cinéma
Distributed byNetflix
Release date
  • September 1, 2019 (2019-09-01) (Venice)[2][3]
  • January 31, 2020 (2020-01-31) (France)[4]
  • June 19, 2020 (2020-06-19) (worldwide)[4][5]
Running time
123 minutes[1][4]
Country
  • France
  • Brazil
  • Spain
  • Belgium[1]
Language
  • English
  • Spanish
  • Russian[1]
Budget€10.53 million[6]
Box office$1.4 million[4][7]

The film had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on September 1, 2019. It was released in France on January 31, 2020, by Memento Films, and was released on June 19, 2020, by Netflix.

Plot

In Havana in the early 1990s, pilot René González (Édgar Ramírez) leaves his wife Olga (Penélope Cruz) and daughter Irma (Carolina Peraza Matamoros) in Cuba to start a new life in the United States. He secretly flies to Miami on a stolen plane (Antonov An-2). González soon joins a group of Cuban exiles and Castro opponents, Brothers to the Rescue, who operate from Florida and act against the Cuban regime through military operations and also aim to disintegrate the Cuban tourism industry. They even fly over Cuban airspace. A Cuban secret organisation named la Red Avispa, or the "Wasp Network," in English is directed by Gerardo Hernández, also known as Manuel Viramontez (Gael García Bernal).

The Cuban American National Foundation (CANF) and Brothers to the Rescue not only launch propaganda brochures about Havana, and lead balseros from Cuba to the Florida shores, but also smuggle drugs and weapons. They also conduct terrorist activities in Cuba organised by Luis Posada Carriles (Tony Plana). In 1996, two Cessna Skymaster from Brothers to the Rescue were shot down by Cuban MiGs over the Caribbean Sea, killing four aviators.

Juan Pablo Roque (Wagner Moura) is another Cuban pilot who defects by swimming to Guantanamo Bay Naval Base and asking for political asylum. He arrives in Miami, settles down and marries Ana Margarita Martínez (Ana de Armas), but after few years flies back to Havana making it very clear that he was a mole who had infiltrated anti-Castro associations.

After months and many bureaucratic procedures, Olga and her daughter are allowed to leave Cuba and rejoin René in Miami. But before their travel, Viramontez informs Olga that her husband is not a gusano (Spanish for worm) or a traitor to the Castro regime but indeed is a hero and a Cuban intelligence agent who infiltrated the CANF, which she must keep secret for the security of all of them and the Wasp Network.

In El Salvador in 1997, Raúl Cruz León (Nolan Guerra Fernández) is recruited by anti-Castroists to place C-4 bombs in Havana hotels. An Italian tourist dies and the same day he is caught by the Cuban police. After being caught the organisation abandons him to his fate.

Finally, René González, Manuel Viramontez and the entire Wasp Network are captured by the FBI, all face charges of conspiracy to commit espionage, conspiracy to commit murder, acting as an agent of a foreign government, and other illegal activities in the United States and face long prison terms if found guilty in the Federal Court of judge Joan A. Lenard (Adria Carey Pérez). In an interview Fidel Castro acknowledges the existence of intelligence agents on American soil.

Despite the fact that the FBI offers to reduce his sentence in exchange for information, René refuses to cooperate.

Aftermath
  • Olga Salanueva-González was deported to Cuba after 3 months in prison. She was reunited with her daughters Irma and Ivette. And campaigned for the liberation of her husband.
  • René González served 12 years in prison. He was released on October 7th, 2011.
  • Gerardo Hernández aka Manuel Viramontez got 2 life sentences. But was freed as a part of a spy swap after serving 15 years.
  • Ana Margarita Martínez sued the Cuban government. She was awarded $27 million dollars in punitive damages. To this day she has collected only $200,000.
  • Juan Pablo Roque was never a pilot again. Facing money problems, he sold his Rolex on eBay.
  • Raúl Cruz León is still serving a 30-year sentence.
  • Luis Posada Carriles died in 2018, aged 90. He was never prosecuted for the 1997 Cuba hotel bombings.

Cast

Production

In April 2017, it was announced that Olivier Assayas would write and direct Wasp Network.[10] Based on Fernando Morais' book called The Last Soldiers of the Cold War, it would tell the story of Cuban spies in American territory during the 1990s.[10] In May 2018, it was announced that Pedro Pascal and Édgar Ramírez would star in the film.[11] In September, Penélope Cruz, Wagner Moura and Gael García Bernal were added to the cast.[12][13] Adria Arjona was added to the cast in December.[14] In February 2019, Ana de Armas was cast.[15]

Filming began in Cuba on February 18, 2019,[16] and wrapped on May 4, 2019.[17]

Release

The film had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on September 1, 2019.[2][3] It has also been screened at the Toronto International Film Festival,[18] the Deauville American Film Festival,[19] the San Sebastián International Film Festival,[20] the New York Film Festival,[21] the BFI London Film Festival.[22] and the Mumbai Film Festival.[23][24]

Netflix acquired the distribution rights to the film in January 2020[25] and distributed it worldwide on June 19, 2020.[4][5]

Critical response

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 42% based on 67 reviews, with a weighted average of 5.39/10. The website's critical consensus states: "Wasp Network's talented cast makes this spy drama hard to ignore, even if the mystery at the heart of its storyline is too tangled for its own good".[5] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 54 out of 100, based on 21 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[26]

Nicholas Barber of BBC gave the film 4 out of 5 stars, calling it "an entertaining and often glamorous cloak-and-dagger thriller in which the sun is always shining and the actors are all gorgeous."[27] Jay Weissberg of Variety wrote, "it leaves viewers gratified by the filmmaking bravura and the sheer pleasure of watching this superb cast in top form, but also feeling shortchanged."[28] Xan Brooks of The Guardian gave the film 3 out of 5 stars, writing, "What it lacks is an emotional charge and a fine-grained texture."[29] David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter called the film "a big, handsomely shot movie with a strong cast and stunning location work" and "a knotty tangle of endless back and forth between too many characters, situations and settings to make for satisfying storytelling."[30]

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See also

References
  1. "Wasp Network". Venice Film Festival. Retrieved July 25, 2019.
  2. Anderson, Ariston (July 25, 2019). "Venice Film Festival Unveils Lineup (Updating Live)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 25, 2019.
  3. Lattanzio, Ryan (August 31, 2019). "Olivier Assayas Fought Against Political Odds to Make Venice Premiere 'Wasp Network' in Cuba". IndieWire. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  4. "Wasp Network (2020) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  5. "Wasp Network (2019)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Mediav. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  6. "Wasp Network (2020)". JP's Box-Office (in French). Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  7. "Wasp Network". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  8. Keslassy, Elsa (August 30, 2019). "Venice: Olivier Assayas' 'Wasp Network' Inks Raft of European Sales (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  9. Tartaglione, Nancy (September 1, 2019). "'Wasp Network': Olivier Assayas Says Cuban Spy Drama Was Spied On During Filming – Venice". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  10. Ford, Rebecca (April 6, 2017). "'Clouds of Sils Maria' Director Olivier Assayas Tackling Cuban Spy Thriller (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
  11. Lang, Brent (May 8, 2018). "Edgar Ramirez, Pedro Pascal Starring in 'Wasp Network'". Variety. Archived from the original on February 21, 2019. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
  12. Hipes, Patrick (September 5, 2018). "Olivier Assayas' 'Wasp Network' Adds Penélope Cruz, Wagner Moura And Gael García Bernal – Toronto". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on February 22, 2019. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
  13. Dale, Martin (December 8, 2018). "Gael Garcia Bernal Talks 'Museo,' 'Chicuarotes,' 'Z,' 'Wasp Network'". Variety. Archived from the original on February 21, 2019. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
  14. N'Duka, Amanda (December 14, 2018). "Adria Arjona In Talks For Female Lead In Jared Leto-Led 'Morbius' Movie At Sony". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on April 4, 2019. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
  15. N'Duka, Amanda (February 11, 2019). "'Blade Runner 2049's Ana de Armas Joins Edgar Ramírez & Penélope Cruz In Spy Drama 'Wasp Network'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on February 22, 2019. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
  16. Keslassy, Elsa (February 4, 2019). "Orange Studio Scoops Olivier Assayas' 'Wasp Network' With Penelope Cruz (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on February 19, 2019. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
  17. Keslassy, Elsa (August 30, 2019). "Olivier Assayas on Making 'Wasp Network' in Cuba 'During a Very Tense Time' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  18. Vlessing, Etan (August 13, 2019). "'The Aeronauts,' 'Burnt Orange Heresy' Added to Toronto Film Fest Lineup". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
  19. Keslassy, Elsa (September 14, 2019). "French Director Olivier Assayas Pays Tribute to Kristen Stewart at Deauville". Variety. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  20. "Penélope Cruz will receive the Donostia Award before the screening of 'Wasp Network', the latest film from Olivier Assayas". San Sebastián International Film Festival. August 22, 2019. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
  21. Fleming Jr, Mike (August 6, 2019). "57th New York Film Festival Sets Full Slate; Pedro Almodovar, Bong Joon-ho Bring Their Cannes Prize Winners". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 6, 2019.
  22. Ritman, Alex (September 18, 2019). "'Waves,' Michael B. Jordan Talk Added to London Film Festival Lineup". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  23. "Mumbai Academy of Moving Image - ProgrammeDetail Site". www.mumbaifilmfestival.com. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
  24. Staff, Scroll. "'The Irishman', 'Ad Astra', 'Midsommar' and 'Pain and Glory' in Mumbai Film Festival line-up". Scroll.in. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
  25. Keslassy, Elsa (January 17, 2020). "Netflix Scoops Olivier Assayas's 'Wasp Network' With Penelope Cruz, Edgar Ramirez (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
  26. "Wasp Network Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  27. Barber, Nicholas (September 2, 2019). "Venice Film Festival review: Wasp Network". BBC. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
  28. Weissberg, Jay (September 1, 2019). "Venice Film Review: 'Wasp Network'". Variety. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
  29. Brooks, Xan (September 2, 2019). "Wasp Network review – Havana's shadow army fuels taut Cuban spy drama". The Guardian. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
  30. Rooney, David (September 1, 2019). "'Wasp Network': Film Review | Venice 2019". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
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