We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks (2013)

The object of a good documentary film-maker should be to change your perception of something. This has been instrumental in many of the most celebrated documentaries ever made from Errol Morris' The Thin Blue Line to Michael Moore's classic Roger & Me. We Steal Secrets is no different. Alex Gibney sets out to make one of the most ambitious documentaries made in a long time with such a broad spectrum of players that you might think it would be too much. But with Bradley Manning in solitary confinement and Julian Assange's 1-million demand, you'd be wrong. Still without these two key players appearing to interview in this film, recreations and stock footage provide more than enough background to form a complete and fascinating picture of the story.The documentary provides us with a number of interesting angles. A central point being how personality deeply affects ones actions in the face of national security. With fascinating characters such as Lamo, Manning and of course Assange. Gibney cleverly suggests Assange might be more devious than originally thought as Assange suggests political motives where there are none in order to take away from his personal guilt. Using the sex-scandal to promote the idea of a witch-hunt which might not be rooted in reality after all.The documentary regardless of your stance should prove to be fascinating and illuminating as it sheds light on the personalities and inner workings of the Wikileaks organization, the biggest whistleblowing organization of the 21st century. What Alex Gibney sets out to do with this film he not only succeeds but he has made one of the most entertaining and exciting documentaries in a long time.Julian Assange and other have tried to to discredit the documentary as fabricating facts. However Julian Assange bashed the film before seeing it based on the title. For an interesting read you can check out the annotated script from both Wikileaks and the filmmakers.

If this film tells us anything its that the mainstream media like their corporate paymasters are very much in bed with the governmental organizations who Julian Assange and others looks to expose. From its title its clear that this is film offers little in the way of objective journalism and instead tows the mainstream media line that Assange is not a whistle blower but in fact an irresponsible thief. There is some interesting facts included in the documentary but its inability to remain objective for me at least undermined its credibility and its value as a serious work. Of course without Assange and people like Bradley Manning the worst excesses of government and corporate society would never come to light. A message this film conspicuously overlooks.

Iam all for protecting the people but there a point when things go to far and we gone way beyond that.The NSA no just tracking terrorists its coping everything with out regard for warrants or what the rights of the people are.They are spying on their own allies and lying to the public.Then they go after the people for breaking the law by exposing them and totally disregard the fact they broke the laws in the first place.There a old saying when the constitution was written up.The people should not fear the government but the government should fear the people.By their very actions they creating the governments that these terrorists fear so much.These guys aren't all saints by any stretch by they have shown that we need to take back control and make the governments responsible to the people once again.

IMDb's plot outline is brief when it says 'A documentary that details the creation of Julian Assange's controversial website, which facilitated the largest security breach in U.S. history', but it fails to mention that the movie covers many more security breaches besides U.S. ones; it's just that all those other revelations pale in comparison.As documentaries go, this work falls short of the mark by a country mile as there are no interviews of the key people, other than rehashed stuff seen before, here and there. That being said, for those who only have a superficial knowledge of Wikileaks and its founder, you will learn a great deal you ought to know. I didn't think the movie was a hatchet job on Julian Assange, but it certainly doesn't glamorize him. It touched on several very influential achievements of WikiLeaks, without really getting to the meat of any of them. I suppose if you're interested in some of those topics you'll be tempted to dig on your own, on Wikileaks website (amazingly still up on the web). I recommend you do; it's as enlightening as any other good read, very.The 'Cablegate' scandal, which effects are still being felt today, the match that lit the flames of the Arab Spring and has been the bane of Obama's presidency almost from the start is talked about in this documentary, though not nearly as extensively as I felt it should, will blow your mind. You might even understand why so many leaders and countries despise the U.S, if you don't already. The cocoon of protection from secrets large corporations have hidden their shameful deeds has been shattered thanks to WikiLeaks; the veil of righteousness of world leaders has been ripped off their indignant looking faces to reveal the real world. But this movie did not come close to making that point unfortunately, unless you read between the lines.Assange's own credibility and motivation are covered and that admittedly will not reflect well on the man, but it should not deter anyone from consulting the website. I enjoyed watching this movie, but I have to admit it's not for the well informed; I recommend it to everyone else.