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If you want to start a fight, ask two people what they think of Julian Assange. Between the Chelsea Manning leaks and the Clinton email dump, the Wikileaks founder has quickly risen to become one of the most simultaneously interesting and polarizing figures of the modern age, someone who embodies understanding the full power of the internet while backing rift-causing opinions on freedom, privacy, and the public’s right to knowledge. Assange is a difficult figure for even the most intelligent reporters and academics to understand, but Laura Poitras comes close in her latest documentary, Risk.
Written and directed by Poitras over the course of six years and executive produced by Sam Esmail, Risk offers a troubling and intimate look into Assange’s life, one that paints him as a misunderstood hero at some points before pointing to him as a villain the next. What starts as a fly-on-the-wall documentary quickly transforms into an engrossing tale about one filmmaker’s relationship with her shifting subject. Truly, you would be hard-pressed to find a filmmaker who is better equipped to capture this elusive subject than the director behind Citizenfour and The Oath. Whether you’re looking for a cheat sheet on this documentary or you just want to know some of the oddest moments, we have you covered. Here are some of the most shocking moments from Risk, which is now streaming on Showtime.
Assange believes the sexual assault allegations levied against him are part of a “radical feminist conspiracy.”
Though the Wikileaks founder is likely best known for his ties to Chelsea Manning, Edward Snowden, and the Hillary Clinton email dump last fall, much of the documentary actually revolves around Assange’s response to the sexual assault allegations that have been levied against him. Assange visited Sweden in 2010, and soon afterwards he was accused of two counts of sexual molestation, one count of unlawful coercion and one count of “lesser-degree rape.” In May of this year, the charges were dropped against Assange with authorities claiming they could not expect the Ecuadorian embassy to communicate reliably with Assange.
Since Risk was filmed over the course of six years, the sexual assault case is referenced fairly consistently. At one point, to the chagrin of his lawyer, Assange claims the whole case is actually a feminist-led conspiracy designed to discredit him. He also makes the comment that the case is difficult because, since there are two women, it’s harder to discredit them. It’s truly a bizarre moment that helps to paint Wikileaks’ organization of hackers as a sexist organization.
Lady Gaga is friends with — or at least friendly with — Julian Assange.
In a surreal blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment, Risk shows Lady Gaga interviewing Assange in the Ecuadorian embassy. There’s a sort of meta element to the encounter since Poitras’ team is filming Lady Gaga filming Assange for The Rolling Stone. Sill, the encounter speaks to how Assange has become less of an organization founder and more of a worldwide celebrity.
Julian Assange seems to really like being on camera.
I’m not the first person to come to this conclusion; The Atlantic’s David Sims makes note of this in his review of the documentary. Assange likes attention. This is especially clear during a scene where Assange changes into an undercover disguise. The Wikileaks founder is a difficult figure to hinge a documentary on as he always seems ready to reveal everything or shut everyone out at any given moment. The very fact Assange allowed Laura Poitras to film him for years speaks of his willingness to embrace transparency, but many of the scenes starring Assange include quick, knowing looks at the camera. Because of this, it’s difficult to tell if Poitras is capturing the true Assange or a performed version of him — something that the filmmaker seems unsure of herself.
Julian Assange is no longer friendly with Laura Poitras.
The documentary concludes with Poitras explaining that she is no longer on good terms with Assange. This explanation comes at the request of Assange and is likely connected to Poitras’ altered cut of the documentary. However, it’s interesting that, after giving her unprecedented access for more than half a decade, Assange didn’t publicly fight Poitras over the parts of the documentary he disapproved of.
Laura Poitras changed the documentary after the election.
The version of Risk that’s now available on Showtime is far different than the cut that was presented at Cannes a year ago. The original version of the documentary reportedly portrayed Assange in a relatively positive light. However, the reworked version, which now includes the 2016 election, presents a far more complicated and nuanced version of Assange. As it now stands, Risk is more about Poitras’ confusing relationship with her subject than Assange’s life or legacy. As a result, it watches as a truer examination of this ever-complicated figure.
