Wasp Network

Wasp Network is a drama set in the early 1990s, when Cuban pilot René González leaves his wife Olga and young daughter behind and starts over in Miami. There he joins a group of Cuban exiles, and the film follows what that decision sets in motion, as the exiles become part of an espionage network that infiltrates Cuban-American groups. What begins as one man's break with his country turns into a larger story of infiltration, shifting loyalties and the cost borne by the families left on both sides. The film is based on a true story and was written and directed by Olivier Assayas.

The cast is led by Penélope Cruz as Olga, Edgar Ramírez as René and Gael García Bernal as Viramontez, with Ana de Armas, Wagner Moura and Leonardo Sbaraglia also in main roles. It is the thirteenth of fifteen features Assayas has directed, made between Non-Fiction and Suspended Time. The film was produced by Charles Gillibert, Rodrigo Teixeira and Lourenço Sant'Anna, and shot as a co-production between Belgium, Brazil, Spain and France on a budget of about 11 million dollars. It earned around 2 million dollars worldwide, a small return on that outlay.

Audience scores are modest and closely matched: 5.9 out of 10 on IMDb from roughly 13,000 votes, and 6.1 out of 10 on TMDB from around 420 votes. A critics' rating of 5.3 out of 10 from 80 reviews places it slightly below the audience scores, so the response was mixed across the board rather than sharply divided.