The Dissident

The grisly murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul and the subsequent cover-up by the Saudi government is explored in The Dissident, a complex and detailed documentary from director Bryan Fogel. Through CCTV footage, social media history, interviews with Jamals family and friends, and unprecedented access to video evidence from Turkish police, the film gives an insider look at the why and how of the crime. Fogel includes such a large volume of information in his documentary that it feels unfocused, as he tries to tackle too much in one sitting.

Khashoggi was outspoken about his homeland of Saudi Arabia, and the government didnt take to kindly to what they saw as his rebellious ideas for...

Really well-done film. I saw the news stories but watching this does a good job of making you pause and realize how absolutely crazy it is that a state can just decide to straight murder somebody, and it's not even on their own soil. I agree that it is also insane that the Saudis can just decide to hack the richest man in the world, all with software designed and sold by a company in what's supposed to be a first-rate democracy, Israel.

I appreciated that Fogel, while making sure to put his name prominently in the credits, never featured on camera (it's not even clear if he's the one talking in some of the interviews / back-and-forths). I find that sometimes documentary filmmakers can get a bit egotistical and fall prey to grating self-promotion.