AllMovie

The Man Who Might Have Been is a documentary about an enigmatic Canadian who found himself at the center of a witch-hunt during the worse days of the Cold War. Herbert Norman was serving as a Canadian ambassador to Egypt when he leapt to his death from a Cairo rooftop. Born in 1909 in Japan -- the son of Canadian missionaries -- his books on Japanese society became required reading for the post-war Occupation Government as well as the new generation of Japanese leaders. He was stationed in Egypt during the Suez crisis, when Canadian diplomacy took center stage. Despite his great achievements, for seven years he had to endure the accusations of being a Soviet spy. Director John Kramer reconstructs the days of the Cold War when accusations of any link with communists would destroy a man's career and lets the audience decide about the true nature of Herbert Norman's activities.