We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks (2013)

Awesome Movie

One of those movie experiences that is so good it makes you realize you've been grading everything else on a curve.

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

A fascinating documentary that sheds a revealing light on the largest whistleblowing scandal of recent times, its repercussions and the moral dilemma involved, even though Gibney also has a bit of trouble editing all this material together in a cohesive way. Watch it. Best WikiLeaks doc out there.

This was a very interesting, thorough and balanced look at a very controversial figure in modern times: Julian Assange. I appreciated that the film did not present a romanticized version of his story, instead taking the good with the bad. The documentary seems to be culled from hundreds of hours of interview footage, much of it featuring Assange himself and for the most part this is riveting to watch. The main centerpiece of the film is the series of leaks originating from Chelsea Manning, and it is here that I felt the film was the weakest. This is mostly because Manning was unavailable to be interviewed, and the only information given from her perspective was from chat logs between herself and Adrian Lamo. I have to admit, watching the text appear on screen instead of hearing a human voice kind of took me out of those parts of the film. However, it did provide me with some information I had previously been unaware of, and made me rethink some rather harsh judgments I made after Manning's trial was concluded. Still, I feel what she did was wrong in the sense that it was reckless, wholesale leaking, and also that proper channels were not used to bring some of the more pertinent information to light. They also spend a good portion of the film talking about Assange's sex crime allegations in Sweden. Again, they do present it in a fairly balanced and objective way, which I applaud the filmmakers for doing. Overall, this was an engaging, thought-provoking and informative documentary which I recommend wholeheartedly.

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.

Watch this documentary if you have heard about WikiLeaks only in papers or on the daily news channel. The documentary is the longest I have even seen(~130 minutes); bit it needs those extra minutes to explain a complex whistle-blowing organization. The film provides you with the core details of the organization, its working, its past employees and mainly on Julian Assange and Bradley Manning. It will take you on a super informative ride,and will constantly shift your bias!What I loved about this documentary was that the unbiased view which which the narration is done. Don't get fooled by the title! This film is not to tear apart WikiLeaks, nor is it in place to be a propagandist of Julian Assange. It praises as well as take digs at Assange, his personal life; providing a view from the both sides of the coin. It will provoke you to ponder as to is WikiLeaks really a one man show? When does a whistle-blower turns into a traitor-aiding the enemy? Who is the "real" enemy? Are the informants of WikiLeaks safe?Gibney has done an excellent job of storytelling. Its easy to see that much effort has been put to compile this brilliant piece of work. Sometimes it takes a full 2 hr feature film to stitch something we think we already know! Kudos!