![]() It's difficult to know where fact ends and fiction begins regarding Seal. ![]() In the trailer, the wording is "Based on an unbelievable true story." The poster for American Made indicates the movie is "Based on a true lie." But when the film begins, the words "Based on a true story" appear at the bottom of the screen. What really happened regarding Seal and Mena has been a bit difficult to discern. He stops to check for change in a pay phone as somebody cruises by in a new Porsche.īased on the movie, hundreds of Contra rebels were ferried to Mena for training but about half of them disappeared into the moonlit forests of the Ouachita Mountains. In another scene, an FBI agent arrives in downtown Mena and sees a Contra rebel in camouflage walking down the street. When a list of large bank deposits is plopped down on a desk in front of a federal investigator, all the banks are listed as being in "Mena, AK." The movie was filmed in Georgia, and it's evident the filmmakers were geographically confused. The city got its mention, but not until about 30 minutes into the movie.įrom there on, however, Mena is manna for the rest of the movie. "I think it's exciting for the people here," Perryman said. Les Perryman, a pilot who was eating lunch Wednesday at American Artisans, said he planned to see the movie. "We just want business mostly, however we can get it." "We're trying to focus a lot on tourism, and that might bring people in," said Rick Chrisman, co-owner of American Artisans eatery and gallery in downtown Mena. The city - and in particular Mena Intermountain Municipal Airport - have become part of what The New York Times referred to in its movie review as the Conspiratorial Industrial Complex.īut if it brings in tourists, at least some of the locals are all for it. Locals say pretty much everything the outside world hears about Mena is a stretch. "Polk County doesn't have a lot of Tom Cruises," she said. The movie, originally titled Mena, stars Tom Cruise as Adler Berriman "Barry" Seal, a rotund Baton Rouge native who put Mena on the map for all the wrong reasons.ĭebbie Scott of Mena said it's a stretch. People in the county seat of Polk County want to put the 1980s saga of drug- and gun-running behind them.īut that's not likely to happen since American Made hit theaters nationwide on Friday. MENA - They're tired of Barry Seal in Mena.
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