Documentary Review Risk

Risk (2017) 

Directed by Laura Poitras 

Written by Laura Poitras 

Starring Julian Assange, Laura Poitras 

Release Date May 5th, 2017 

The documentary Risk from director Laura Poitras is an engrossing and fascinating portrait of a man that history has yet failed to fully grasp. Julian Assange would like to be thought of as the Robin Hood of the information era, robbing the rich of their secrets and sharing them with the world. But Assange’s choice to make himself the public face of his Wikileaks organization has unquestionably gone to his head and rendered him a paranoid and strange figure who believes conspiracies against him are hiding behind every corner.

Risk was a strange endeavor for Assange from the very beginning. As Poitras points out in notes from a production journal that she added to the film as it evolved, she wasn’t sure why Assange wanted to be part of her project. Poitras doesn’t believe that Assange liked her very much and yet, he gives her unprecedented access to him. A scene of Assange meeting with his lawyer in a grove of trees where he appears deeply concerned about the possibility of drones listening to his conversation demonstrate not the charming spy schtick he seems to want to project but rather a strange, frail and paranoid man.

An early scene in the film finds Assange and a colleague attempting to contact then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Assange is so deluded by his perceived celebrity and importance that he thinks he can call and speak to the Secretary of State just because he wants to. Sure, Assange has something important to tell the Secretary of State about documents Wikileaks is about to release that effect US Intelligence, but to think any private citizen in the world can just call and be connected to the United State Secretary of State is beyond narcissistic.

Then there is the most talked about series of scenes in Risk, those dealing with allegations that Assange sexually assaulted two women in Sweden in 2010. Comically, Assange allows Poitras to film him as he puts on a disguise that he hopes will be enough to get him to the Ecuadorean Embassy in London where he is expected to get asylum from extradition to Sweden. The disguise proves silly and unnecessary but more to the point, allowing himself to be filmed putting it on only makes Assange seem strange and slightly unhinged. There’s only more to come on that front.

Find my full length review in the Geeks Community on Vocal 

Movie Review All the Beauty and the Bloodshed

All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (2022) 

Directed by Laura Poitras 

Written by Documentary 

Starring Nan Goldin 

Release Date November 23rd, 2022 

Published December 21st, 2022 

All the Beauty and the Bloodshed is a powerful and haunting exploration of the work and life of a remarkable artist. The bold and brilliant Nan Goldin made her first impact on art culture in the 1980s with her sensational art piece, A Ballad of Sexual Dependency. That multimedia experience included explicit and deeply personal photographs depicting the many relationships in Goldin's circle, including brutally honest explorations of her own relationship. Though some told Nan Goldin that photographers don't photograph themselves or their own lives, she defied them and became a cult legend. 

Defiance is a strong quality in Nan Goldin. Defying conventional, suburban expectations of her life was a hallmark of Goldin's childhood. Following the all too early death of her older sister, Nan Goldin defied her parents by continuing to ask questions about why her sister died so young. And, later in Goldin's life, she became defiant of the corporate art world by leading a protest against one of the corporations that funded many of the biggest and most well-known museums around the world. 

The owners of Purdue Pharma, the Sackler Family, donated millions to museums around the world, including ones that were home to the work of Nan Goldin. Goldin however, never afraid to bite the hand that supposedly fed her, started a protest movement aimed specifically at getting the Sackler family name off of the walls of world of art. Why? Because Nan Goldin was a rare survivor of the opioid crisis, one who came out the other side of her addiction with her voice intact. 

Thousands of people have died from overdose and illness related to the Sackler family's pharmaceutical products, Oxycontin and Fentanyl. Over the years, the callous and cold-hearted statements made by the Sackler family regarding their deadly products have come to light and Nan Goldin uses those statements as part of her art and protest movement called "PAIN." PAIN targeted what they call 'Toxic Philanthropy,' essentially the uber-rich who use philanthropy to cover up for their unethical, immoral and or illegal business practices. 

Find my full length review at Geeks.Media