CERT: 15 / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW (SKY STORE, AMAZON PRIME, GOOGLE PLAY, YOUTUBE, VIRTUAL CINEMA)
Lord Byron once wrote “‘Tis strange—but true; for truth is always strange, Stranger than fiction…”, and nearly 200 years since penning those words, it seems that they are truer than ever. We don’t even need to list the examples anymore, they just spring from the mind like a waterfall. Especially after the last few years. But before the world was insane (well, this insane), documentaries have for years harnessed those “that can’t be true?” stories for us to experience, often on the seat’s very edge and with our jaw on the floor next to the family relaxing dog. And in Ryan White’s film Assassins we have a winding tale, befitting of a Hollywood thriller, but with very sharp points to make.
Assisted by actual CCTV footage, in court recordings and other evidence, alongside some revealing interviews and talking heads, this unbelievable film details the assassination of Kim Jong-nam, the older half-brother of current North Korea leader Kim Jong-un, at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport of Malaysia in 2017. Though, it sheds its focus as much (if not more) on the two women “responsible” for the nerve agent attack, as it does on the events of that day (and the eye opening run up to it).
White’s film is a compelling tale of power, politics and manipulation/damnation of innocence. It lays bare for us how those in high places and with their hands around the throats of their nation are beyond reproach, and how those with far less power are left to be used, abused and left for the vultures to pick at. Often sadistically playfully so at that.
If you are unfamiliar with the story, we won’t ruin what will be a most illuminating evening for you, but if you are up to scratch, this film offers up the human consequences of that day, as well as the inhuman gains, and the life or death aftermath. We meet those involved, untangle the web of deceit and manipulation, and make some quite staggering discoveries from the facts and actual images themselves.
Had a screenwriter written this for the big screen, critics would have lambasted it as ridiculously plotted or insanely over the top, but knowing it’s all real will never cease to amaze. When murder and fierce politics meet Youtube and youthful vulnerability, you are left with Assassins, and White makes sure to cast a light on the inherent problems present in attaining justice, reporting the facts and wielding scary amounts of power. Despite its roots in one unpredictable part of our world, there is a strong feeling here that some of the biases and inequality shown is applicable in a wider sense too. Especially the brief closing point about social media’s venomous ignorance of facts and lack of humanity.
Assassins and its true story of murder and exploitation, and in our ever developing viral age full of worldwide political turmoils, is a tale that feels as relevant and urgent as ever. See it and try to believe it all actually happened, because it did! Seeing is believing, as strange and heartbreaking as what you are seeing may be. Byron, you called it!
