The Indie on Demand Movie Review: Garbo the Spy

This week's episode of our movie review radio show takes a look at a documentary that focuses in on a curious little corner of the history of World War II. In Garbo the Spy, director Edmon Roch (producer, Barcelona & Perfume: The Story of a Murderer) uses expert interviews and cunningly deployed film clips to tell the tale of Juan Pujol Garcia -- codename Garbo -- a Spaniard recruited by British intelligence as a double agent. His elaborate deceptions were so effective (he and his network of non-existent operatives eventually became the Nazi's go-to source for information) that they played a significant role in the Allies' successful landing in Normandy.

The story was compelling enough that Graham Greene borrowed it for his novel Our Man in Havana; turns out the reality was no less intriguing. Click on the player to hear my review.