In The Sympathizer, the Captain works for a high-ranking official in South Vietnam known as the General, played by Toan Le.
As the General is in charge of the Secret Police of South Vietnam, he is a feared figure in both North and South Vietnam.
However, the Captain, who is the General’s right-hand man, believes that the General is not very astute, given that he has not realized that the Captain is a spy.
Rebuilding his life in the US
The General keeps the Captain close because he went to college in the US and helps the General improve his English.
He assists the General with his speeches, making him appear intelligent and well-read, and lives in the General’s house as his manservant.
The General trusts the Captain enough to leave important and difficult decisions, such as choosing the people to accompany him to the US, to him.
Being an anti-communist, if the General had stayed in the country after the war, he would have been sent to a reeducation camp.
Therefore, the General had to flee the country with his chosen group of men. However, life in the US proves to be extremely difficult.
The General has to live in a refugee camp, losing all the privileges he once enjoyed back home, along with his stature and prestige.
He is also blamed by the families of his followers for misleading them. The General is no longer a respected and feared figure.
Unable to cope with his changed circumstances, the General turns to drinking, which eventually gives him the idea to open a liquor store.
As a man who thrived in war, the General finds it hard to adapt to this new life. His paranoia leads him to believe there is a spy among his men.
He shares his concerns with the Captain, who is tasked with finding the spy. The Captain frames the Major, and the General does not hesitate to order the Captain to kill him.
The General’s plan to reclaim his country
While the General and his wife rebuild their life in the US, the Captain becomes involved in filmmaking, but the General helps him whenever he asks for it.
Besides losing his home, the General also loses his daughter, who leaves home to make a name for herself.
Refusing to accept defeat, the General devises a strategy to reclaim his country and bring his daughter back by building an army of his own in the US.
He prepares his men for battle and secures funding for his project, surprising the Captain, who had thought that the General’s plan was too ambitious to be achievable.
With the Captain reporting the General’s activities to the communists, there is little possibility of his plan succeeding, but the General remains determined despite the apparent futility of his efforts.
When the Captain, originally sent to the US to keep an eye on the General, requests to join the recon mission, the General refuses, as he believes that he needs the Captain.
Unaware of the Captain’s betrayal, the General trusts him above all; he even reveals his vulnerabilities to him, causing the Captain to feel guilty at times for betraying him.
Only when the Captain murders Sonny on the General’s orders does the General permit him to go with Bon on the recon mission.
However, just as the Captain had expected, the mission fails, and the Captain never sees the General again.
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