The Dissident

Please ignore the Saudi bots and read the unanimous rave reviews of recognized film critics. Watch this brilliant film.

There's not much one can say about this documentary without chasing the very soul of the subject away, so to speak. Simply put, it is a vital detailing of the horrendous murder of an innocent man who spoke truth to power.

It's a rare thing to find a film of such vital contemporary importance. Every person who watches this is better informed about the world they live in and the power structures that govern - or seek to control - each and every one of us.

Pay no heed to negative reviewers, most if not all of which are almost certainly paid trolls with an agenda. This will be made clear in the film.

"When I speak of the fear, intimidation, arrests, and public shaming of intellectuals and religious leaders who dare to speak their minds, and then I tell you that I'm from Saudi Arabia, are you surprised?" Jamal Khashoggi

October 2, 2018 was a day to define the reach of Saudi tyranny as Jamal Khashoggi, the Saud Arabian editor and Washington Post columnist was brutally murdered. Bryan Fogel's documentary, The Dissident, seems to present the maximum amount of information extant, which points to the responsibility at the top of Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman (MBS), who has experienced no sanctions so far.

The Doc makes sure to include Khashoggi's fiancé, Hatice Cenzig, whose devotion to her valorous lover is quietly illustrated along with Fogel's favorable depiction of him as loveable, fair minded, and courageous. Not good enough to save him from the wrath of a royal family that brooks no dissidence.

The evidence is overwhelming-reports from witnesses where Khashoggi was strangled by MBS personal security guard for over 7 minutes and dismembered with a saw visibly brought into the government building. It's highly probable his body was burned along with 70 pounds of meat to cover the smell from the interior vat.

The real shame of this gruesome tale is that the noted journalist was fighting for freedom in a nation that has long needed it, as evidenced by the Arab Spring uprising in 2011, squelched but not forgotten by scribes like Khashoggi. That he wrote for a leading US paper only added more disdain from the West and anger from journalists around the world who have generally not been dismembered but have been tortured and vilified, even by the US's Donald Trump.

Fogel's documentary is as nail biting as a thriller, and with its lack of closure for MBS (some Arabs were imprisoned for the murder), a profound anger from those around the world who still feel suppression from autocrats amd tyrants. As a matter of fact, MBS and Putin should compare notes.

"The Dissident" is a documentary about the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. As the movie opens, it is "Montreal, Quebec, January 20, 2019, three months after the murder of Khashoggi", where we get to know Omar, a Saudi national and activist who now lives in exile, as he tells about the dangers he is facing. Omar had befriended Khashoggi, who had warned him "This kind of work might get you killed." We then go to "Istanbul, Turkey, October 2, 2018", as Khashoggi comes to the Saudi Consulate to pick up his papers so that he can marry his fiancée (who is waiting outside). At this point we are less than 10 min. into the documentary.

Couple of comments: this is the newest documentary from writer/director Bryan Fogel, whose previous film "Icarus" won the 2018 Best Documentary Oscar. Here he takes a new look at what really happened inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, and he unearths a number of shocking new evidence including the transcript of an audio tape of the murder . Along the way he provides ample screen time to Omar, the dissident in Montreal, and also to Hatice Cengiz, Khashoggi's fiancée. The latter puts a human face on the entire ordeal. Last but not least, the Turkish Prosecutor and police also pipe in. It all makes for a disturbing and at time shocking and uncomfortable viewing experience, with only one logical conclusion: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) will stop at nothing in his quest for power and correlating need to crush any and all dissent, not even a cold blooded murder of another Saudi citizen, in a Saudi Consulate no less. Along the way Fogel explains how the Saudi hacking technology works, and what to connection is with Jeff Bazos. You may recall that a few months ago there was a similar documentary on Showtime called "Kingdom of Silence", itself quite good as well. But in the end "The Dissenter" wins it by a nose or two, on the account of the deeper research that went into the making of this. But by all means check out both these films.

"The Dissident" premiered with immediate acclaim at this year's Sundance Film Festival back in January, yea in what feels is now a different (pre-COVID-19) decade altogether, Given Fogel's stellar track record, you'd think that distributors would be in a bidding war for this film, but the opposite happened: all major platforms and outlets (Netflix, which had distributed "Icarus", Amazon, Neon, Fox Searchlight, etc.) couldn't run away fast enough from this film, in an obvious sign that they didn't want the wrath of the Saudi Government for releasing this film. Just pitiful and sad. In the end, Fogel all but self-released this via a tiny indie outlet. The movie opened around Christmas in select theaters for a short run before pivoting in the near future to streaming services. The early evening theatrical screening where I saw this at the day after Christmas was attended poorly (exactly 3 people, including myself). Never mind. If you want to understand what all the Saudi Government will do to crush dissent of any kind, with the apparent blessing of Loser Trump who found nothing wrong with any of this, I'd readily suggest you check this out, be it in the theater, on VOD, or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray, and draw your own conclusion.

Watch it. This story deserves to be heard. Poses critical questions about freedom of speech and the role of governments.