This review of the film was originally posted on the HuffPost, in May of 2017 as the film was opening in the US. I felt this film is more poignant than ever, as Assange is finally released and returns to his home country.
Read MoreRedefining the Hero: Laura Poitras’ ‘Risk’ and the True Julian Assange
We’ve been tricked by popular cinema, comic books and TV into believing that heroes are mighty and great — lacking all fear and devoid of any fault. It’s easier to write a hero as an all-around perfect man. But in real life, heroes are those who defy their greatest fears to accomplish something which goes beyond anything they could ever have imagined. Real-life heroes don’t lack fear, rather they act in spite of this paralyzing instinct. And their faults usually outnumber their merits, just as they do with any of us, if we get down to the nitty gritty tally of it all.
In fact, I believe that oftentimes, heroes end up being heroes despite their best intentions.
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