5 Facts You Need to Know Before Watching 'The Sympathizer'

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There's no doubt that "The Sympathizer" is my most anticipated series in the first half of the year.

Produced by A24, it signifies excellent taste. Whether it's recent releases like "Civil War" or "Everything Everywhere All at Once" in 2022, A24 always manages to skillfully balance art and entertainment. Similarly, clichés and dullness are absolutely absent in the works of director Park Chan-wook. He's the kind of director who excels at using violent elements, from "Oldboy" to "The Handmaiden," blood flows abundantly in each of his works. Injecting indiscriminate bloodshed into a thrilling espionage story only heightens the excitement. But that's not all, the exhilarating original spy novel has even won the Pulitzer Prize, meaning "The Sympathizer" is not just about entertainment and art; it also has intellectual depth.

In just the first episode, with the fall of Saigon, elements that capture attention like violent interrogations of female prisoners, large-scale war scenes, and the enigmatic double agent (the protagonist) appear. And all of this is presented very smoothly. Except for a quick 20-second intertitle that introduces the background of the story at the beginning, the series quickly dives into the main storyline. Although, thanks to Park's superb directing skills, understanding this story isn't difficult, during the viewing process, I still couldn't help but occasionally feel puzzled by some of the protagonist's actions. Who is the "sympathizer"? Why does the protagonist shed tears for both warring sides? Is he a bad person? How does he understand this turbulent situation? While watching the series, I often paused to look up historical events related to the Vietnam War. I've compiled five essential facts about the book, and believe me, after understanding them, you will have a better understanding of The Captain, the double-faced spy in the story.

[5.] The Original Author: Viet Thanh Nguyen

First, let's take a look at the background of the author.

"The Sympathizer" is Viet Thanh Nguyen's debut work, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 2016, making him the first Vietnamese American writer to win the prize.

Nguyen was born in 1971 during the tumultuous period of the Vietnam War. Although he himself did not directly experience the war, his family and community were affected by its aftermath. In 1975, the year depicted in the first episode, at the age of four, he fled Vietnam with his parents and older brother to the United States. There, he experienced multiple hardships such as residing in refugee camps, cultural integration, and identity recognition, before eventually becoming a professor of English, American Studies and Ethnicity, and Comparative Literature at the University of Southern California.

In other words, although he did not experience the cruel war himself, the characters' prototypes may have been inspired by his family, combined with his own experiences, which gave birth to "The Sympathizer."

[4.] Who is the Sympathizer?

In my understanding, it should refer to The Captain.

The creation of a story focusing on an unnamed North Vietnamese spy lurking in the southern part of the country is closely related to Nguyen's personal experience as a Vietnamese refugee and second-generation immigrant in the United States.

In the story, The Captain possesses sympathy. He is a spy, yet very emotionally charged. When a female prisoner from the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) is interrogated, he secretly sheds tears; when Saigon falls, he sits on a bus and watches the surging crowd, as his eyes overflow with sympathy.

Whether it's for his Vietnamese compatriots, North Vietnamese comrades, South Vietnamese soldiers, or the marginalized, vulnerable Vietnamese refugees in the white American society, as well as other ethnic minorities, the protagonist holds deep sympathy for them, truly living up to the moniker of "The Sympathizer."

In a sense, the novel may seem like the protagonist's "self-examination," but it's more like Nguyen's "confession" of himself- and identity exploration — in the story, The Captain, as a double agent, has close contact with both opposing sides of the Vietnam War, and harbors no hostility towards either side; in reality, the author also moved from Vietnam to the United States, crossing between two completely different social and cultural backgrounds. The cultural conflict might not be as intense as the war but was equally challenging.

[3.] Differences between the South and North Vietnamese Regimes

In the series, Vietnam is divided into two factions: the southern and northern parts. What are the differences between these two regimes?

The South Vietnamese government was supported by the United States. In retrospect, perhaps corruption was a characteristic of this regime. Just like the luxurious lifestyles of the generals depicted in the series, while the people on the streets are impoverished, the high-ranking officials of the South Vietnamese government often use their power for personal gain, leading to severe corruption and bribery.

On the other hand, North Vietnam was governed by the CPV. In the American perception, the party had the support of the Soviet Union and China, which attempted to overthrow the capitalist regime in southern Vietnam and establish a unified communist regime. Therefore, the United States saw it as a war against communist expansion, believing that if the CPV was not stopped from conquering Vietnam, it would lead to the spread of communism in Southeast Asia, and pose security threats to the United States and its allies.

This is also why the captured female spy in the series has such a strong expression and obvious characteristics of collectivism in her speech.

Although the radical CPV ultimately won the war, its victory also brought serious consequences. After the occupation of South Vietnam, large-scale purge operations were conducted in North Vietnam, and South Vietnamese government officials and pro-American elements were severely punished. These purges were extremely brutal, and they included arrests, executions, detentions, etc., that resulted in large numbers of deaths and disappearances.

[2.] The Real Casualties of the Vietnam War

Many would have watched Hollywood films and TV shows related to the Vietnam War. Whether it's the battlefields in "Platoon," life segments of the protagonist in "Forrest Gump," or the American anti-war protesters in "The Post," do you feel that the United States is the biggest victim of the Vietnam War in these works?

In fact, as the defeated party, the United States had about 58,000 of its soldiers killed in this war. But at the same time, it caused about three million deaths in both North and South Vietnam, and during and after the war, it also took the lives of at least three million people in Laos and Cambodia.

It's extremely ironic that in this war, Americans are depicted in Hollywood as both "victims" and "superstars," while the Vietnamese, who suffered the most painful consequences, are completely "marginalized."

In fact, even today, we can still see similar situations in the Middle East. In the series, South Vietnamese civilians flee frantically during the 1975 withdrawal of American troops, the same scene that was also played out when they withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021.

[1.] The Indeterminate Nature of the Vietnam War

In an interview, Nguyen explained his original intention of creating "The Sympathizer." In summary, although most of those who died were foreigners from countries such as Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq, the United States only cared about its own feelings. It's no different from the Vietnam War, where Americans behaved the same; in some way, their memories have turned the Vietnam War into an "American war."

More importantly, Nguyen also believes that the Vietnamese understanding of this war is flawed too.

After the Vietnam War ended, the CPV took power, and it viewed the war as a struggle against aggression and colonialism, emphasizing the heroic battle of the Vietnamese people against foreign interference, and their pursuit of national independence and unification. This interpretation is entirely different from that of Americans; they believe it is a just war of justice fought to defend Vietnam's independence and freedom.

Regardless, in my view, it's incredibly difficult to determine the rights and wrongs of a war.

The only clear fact is that millions of people died in the Vietnam war.

Catch you later for more movie musings!