We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks – DVD review

Alex Gibney 2013

Universal

Julian Assange does not emerge well from this documentary. Among the many examples of the WikiLeaks founder’s strange, contradictory nature is the revelation that the man who believes information should be “free” wanted $1m to be interviewed; also, his declaration that if Afghan civilians pass information to the occupying forces, they “deserve to die”.

Infinitely more sympathetic is poor, confused, troubled Bradley Manning, whose webchats form the film’s emotional core. Gibney unpicks this complex story’s many threads calmly, meticulously and compellingly.