“The Last Spy” is a story of secrets, espionage and “if I told you, I would have to kill you” moments.
The documentary follows Peter Sichel as he turns 100, and remains one of the last people who helped form the Central Intelligence Agency after World War II.
As a Jewish man, he lived through the 1930s in Europe as Adolf Hitler managed to take power. Peter and his family moved from Germany to France, and finally to the United States to seek asylum during the war.
Once he turned of age, he enlisted in the war efforts for the United States, and because of his French language proficiency, he became an asset. He was a spy for the Office of Strategic Services, which was renamed the Central Intelligence Agency of the federal government after the war.
After the war, and his recruitment in the agency, he found himself back in Berlin to be the main field officer for the area.
He then spent the 1950s and early 1960s being the top spy for the agency and doing mysterious spy things, of course.
This film was an interesting inside look at how the agency formed and Sichel’s part in it.
There is also a bit of irony, to me at least, in how he left Europe to escape death, and later went back to the area and faced death once again as a spy for the United States.
I highly recommend this movie if you love anything spy-related or the history of the Central Intelligence Agency.
Next chances to see “The Last Spy”:
Tuesday, April 28 | 7:00 p.m. | Downer Theatre (North Cinema)
Wednesday, April 29 | 1:00 p.m. | Oriental Theatre (Abele Cinema)