A Well-Founded Fear

When I first heard about this film I was overjoyed that someone had finally taken the time to investigate these criminal acts by the government, and was really looking forward to seeing the results of their investigations.

I was extremely disappointed as the film immediately degenerated into 60-minutes-style sensationalism revolving around only two or three individual cases, complete with long scenes of sad music and hugs from the "journalist".

I do not wish to deny the suffering of these people, but this was not investigative journalism. At the start they said they picked 50 names from a list of deported asylum seekers to track down. At no stage in the film (I refuse to call it a documentary) were the full results of their investigations revealed. How many were they able to contact? How many were killed? How many were found living normally without any persecution? In the second half of the film they make some very serious allegations about misconduct by the immigration department and/or the government, but instead of attempting to interview those responsible, the "journalist" simply sighs and asks himself how they sleep at night.

In summary, a wasted opportunity to explore a very important subject.