Inadvands Boring, over-political, tech fuzed mess

Holstra Boring, long, and too preachy.

Casey Duggan It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Matylda Swan It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

WebBeachBoy I take a substantial interest in film and visit this site, in particular, every day. So it was a little surprising to me that whilst I had been submerged in the media tsunami of publicity for "The Fifth Estate" I had never heard of this documentary film released on 13th October 2013 (and available free to view for individuals for the coming weekend). It seems that, even if you give away your film for free, then it will be "dissapeared" unless some paid publicity agency pours endless copy onto the media to promote it. Where is objectivity ? The film reports on a tour by WikiLeaks personnel through the "stans" of central Asia interviewing publishers and editors who may be interested in publishing WikiLeaks material pertaining to their own countries. This film is quite remarkable in it's simplicity, not labouring the point, and letting the viewer make their own conclusions about bias in publishing organisations in countries. It also has it's unexpectedly funny moments such as one radio station (Radio "Liberty") chief saying "we are absolutely free (to say anything)" then the following day saying that he cannot do anything because his boss in Washington reminded him that his Afghanistaan radio station was funded by the American Congress. No roads but - tentacles are everywhere :) You may want to see "The Fifth Estate" - a little bit of fluff - but if you are interested in Wikileaks then watch this unbiased documentary film. At then end of it I realised how much the media had obeyed their puppet-masters and witch hunted Julian Assange.

baylis_david-445-576572 This film follows a media team traveling down the old silk road across Central Asia contacting media organisations to partner with to publish Cablegate communications relevant to each country. Fantastic fly on the wall point of view with artistic photography of beautiful terrain and scenery not usually seen. The soundtrack gives the film an urgent vitality that makes the whole gripping.You learn truths about the countries view of their press freedom, and when it comes down to publishing the actual cables you see how a "free press" is in actuality quite rare.Best Film I have seen in 2 years... Highly Recommended.

Chris Smith The first thing that struck me about this documentary was how beautifully it was filmed. The stunning snow-capped mountain scenery of Central Asia in the opening shots got me hooked immediately. This is a road film that travels through some of the most remote and rugged territory in the world that is rarely seen by people in the West. It is where the old Silk Road used to run between Europe and China that is now a geopolitical battleground between East and West.An intrepid team of Wikileaks supporters tours the capital cities of the "Stans", the Muslim states of former Soviet Central Asia, looking for local media organisations to partner with and to publish Cablegate files relevant to their countries. The interviews with local editors and journalists provide some sobering insights into the pressures on them from both local state authorities and their corporate owners. The negotiations with editors also shed light on the Wikileaks' approach to disclosures and the need to protect vulnerable people via redactions.The team--including Swedish director Johannes Wahlstrom--enters a Swedish military base in northern Afghanistan and films a memorable encounter with the person in charge of development aid about the reality of her role in this military intervention.The film ends up back in the West interviewing editors in the UK and US about the pressures they also face--hammering home the fact that it is not just publishers in dictatorships that face problems.Highly recommended.

caravanistan I never write movie reviews, but since the topic of the film is Central Asia and the current state of the media, 2 things I care a lot about, I wanted to air my views.I had high hopes before the start of this film, since so few movies come out about Central Asia. I found the film however to be quite boring, misleading and demagogic.I think there are many things wrong with the way the American government, secret services and military act abroad, and there are big issues with today's media landscape in Central Asia and the US. Sadly, Mediastan, with its confused narrative, illuminates nothing here beyond the basic facts most educated people already know.The basic point of the film is that the American government tries to make itself look good in Central Asia through the media there. Obviously, it does, like every other government and large company. But why does the film focus so much on the Americans here, who are generally a force for good in the media landscape in Central Asia? Journalists don't get killed or locked away by Americans in Central Asia, they get killed or imprisoned by local governments and mafiosi. RFE/RL is one of the best sources of independent information in Central Asia, thanks to the support of the American government, but Wikileaks makes them look like they are nothing more than a propaganda channel for the West. Of course they promote Western values, but they also provide valuable news services in a region where this is not always possible, and their journalists risk a lot.AsiaPlus is a courageous independent newspaper in Tajikistan, but after watching Mediastan, you get the impression that they are also being backed by the Us Government.In its focus on the crimes, mistakes and manipulations of the US Foreign Service, Mediastan misses a good opportunity to discuss the real problems in the media landscape of Central Asia.I think a film like this would have been better if it focused on the media landscape in the US, like when at the end, images of a park with peaceful protesters from Occupy Wall Street are juxtaposed with the sound of a journalist who says they are very dangerous people and the chance of rape is very high in the park. Or, alternatively, focusing on the pressure by Russian or local governments on the journalists would have been great too.I also didn't understand the interviews afterwards with Rusbridger and Keller. Both respected, concerned, intelligent editors who are implicitly accused of being 'all about the money' in this movie. Everybody knows the Guardian and the NYT are very serious about journalistic standards and often break news other newspapers wouldn't, and at the same time we all know the newspaper business is in a difficult place and they need to earn money to survive.The pauperization of the news landscape in the US (and everywhere else) due to commercial interests and ideological bipartisanship is a story that cannot be told enough, but this road movie without a script accuses all the wrong people. Not a wikileaks fan anymore.