You don’t typically think of a World War II documentary as being a date movie, but “Garbo the Spy” isn’t your typical film. Oh, sure, it goes through the regular motions of any other film you might catch on the History Channel — interviews with experts, grainy footage, swastikas and subtitled German galore — but the clever mixing of historical footage with Hollywood propaganda films and moody music turn it into a uniquely affecting experience.
And so it wasn’t entirely unexpected when the young couple sitting next to us held hands and leaned their heads together as their eyes welled up. Seventy years later, those old war movies still pack a wallop; and new revelations about real-life espionage makes them even … er … wallopier.
The SFIFF folks have asked that we not reveal anything new about the film until it comes out in wide release, so you’ll just have to keep your eyes peeled for our review at a later date.
For now, all we can say is that the nerdy-chic crowd, dominated by librarian glasses and KQED tote bags and one or two Google employee jackets, was the perfect match for the film.
Garbo the Spy screens three more times: Mon, May 3 at 3:45 PM at the Kabuki, Tue, May 4 at 3:30 PM at the Clay, and Thu, May 6 at 8 PM at the Kabuki
