The Dissident

The Dissident movie is not just about who murdered the Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi. We are already aware of that. A prosecutor from Turkey, addressing the issue for the very first time, explains the mechanics of the situation.

In October 2018, a team of fifteen Saudis traveled to Istanbul, taking advantage of Khashoggi's need to go back to the Saudi consulates to retrieve a document. On October 2, 2018, he went there around midday and never left. Hatice Cengiz, his fiancée, waited outside for about 12 hours, unable to accept the fact that the worst had occurred. She notified some of his journalistic colleagues, who then launched a campaign to compel the Saudis to clarify. Khashoggi had hesitancy in departing. He had already been in exile, having departed the country to escape imprisonment some years before. His Saudi wife was coerced into divorcing him. In order to remarry, he was required to provide documentation of the divorce.

The remainder of The Dissident movie is a remarkable piece of work that embraces and organizes several levels of knowledge with courage and artistry. If our society needs new forms to capture the complexities of contemporary existence, The Dissident offers a path ahead. The film is both riveting and disturbing, comparable to a Bourne thriller about our real world.

Year of Release: 2020

Star: Omar Abdulaziz, Fahrettin Altun

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 96%