A true breach of loyalty

Next  Wednesday 6:20pm at Rialto Cinema the Tauranga Film Society presents Breach, a taut thriller based on the story of Robert Hanson - an FBI agent who sold secrets to the Soviets for 25 years.

Although Hanson had often attracted suspicion, he was extremely cunning and always talked his way out of danger. Eventually a fellow FBI agent assigned to spy on Hansen got the goods, and he was arrested in 2001.

How did Hansen evade capture for so long?

To understand why we must consider the McCarthy era anti-communist witch hunts of post-war America.

In a profoundly mis-guided attempt to improve the national security, the FBI was empowered to investigate American citizens for the nebulous crime of "Un-American Activities".

In a manner reminiscent of communist East Germany, secret informants were used to incriminate people - who were in most cases innocent.

It led Arthur Miller to write The Crucible, ostensibly set during the Salem witch trials, as a parable for the hysteria of anti-communism. In this culture of fear, being a patriotic god-fearing citizen was a wise career move, and decades later this still holds true - especially when the FBI casts its eagle gaze.

The premise of Breach is the inability of security services to "read" an individual. The director, Billy Ray, plays up the sexual peccadilloes of Hansen (he secretly taped sex with his wife to share with a friend), as evidence of his unreliable nature and presents it as the warning bell for the FBI.

In reality, Hanson's sex life had nothing to do with his capture, and one could argue that even though Hansen worked as a Soviet spy, he was still "American". He sold secrets for money, so was true to the US profit motive.

He was intensely religious and as for sharing videos of his sexual exploits, that appears to be the national pastime for Americans on the net.

Contact Neale from Tauranga Film Society at neale@orcon.net.nz, 07 573 4157.