Farce is not a genre we commonly associate with the Germans, but then, as “Curveball” reminds us at the outset, this wildly atypical Teutonic satire — which plays like a cross between “Wag the Dog”…
” reminds us at the outset, this wildly atypical Teutonic satire — which plays like a cross between “Wag the Dog” and “Dr. Strangelove” in its portrayal of incompetence at the highest levels — is “A true story. Unfortunately.” More mea culpa than comedy, assuming/assigning responsibility for the role Germany played in helping George W. Bush settle a score with Saddam Hussein, director’s nutso sendup of the unreliable intelligence source whose testimony served as the justification for the U.S.
“What is truth?” inquires “Curveball” at the outset. Aiming for the fast-paced, irreverent tone that seems to come so easily to political swashbucklers Armando Iannucci and Chris Morris over in the U.K., Naber and co-writer Oliver Keidel struggle to find the right tone.
Back in Germany, Wolf’s supervisors at the country’s Federal Intelligence Service, the BND, call him in to evaluate the man they’re calling Curveball, played by first-season “Game of Thrones” vet Dar Salim with the tough-to-trust unctuousness of a used car dealer. Alwan is charming, but he doesn’t exactly inspire confidence, guzzling Coca-Cola in quantities more toxic than any chemical Saddam might be manufacturing back home.
Wolf believes him, and calling upon Leslie for a favor meant to corroborate his testimony, he accidentally tips the BND’s hand. Before he knows it, Leslie is pulling rank, trying to steal his source and reworking Curveball’s sketch into something that Secretary of State Colin Powell can present to the U.N. as a plausible reason to invade Iraq.
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