Capsule Review “The Killing of a Journalist”

…….At first glance, an investigative documentary about political corruption in Slovakia might seem remote and of limited interest and the death of a journalist there of limited concern, but Slovakia has been a member of the European Union since 2004 and, even more widely, rightist, authoritarian governments are on the rise worldwide.  With authoritarian leaders comes an increased risk of corruption.  Also, attacks on journalists are increasing everywhere as anti-democratic forces express scorn for a free press, even in the United States where fair treatment of an issue is no longer required.  

…….This clearly explained documentary (in spite of the complexity of the issue) shows all of us how a modern state such as Slovakia, not all that different from our own, can experience such a devastating breakdown in a supposedly democratically elected government.  A key feature of the film (and the investigation itself) is the use of technology to expose the corruption, giving us hope that there are means of exposing the criminals and bringing them to justice. 

…….Also encouraging (and a lesson for all of us) is the determination of the Slovakian people to get at the truth.  A disturbing revelation is that the mafia has now gone corporate, enabling them to infiltrate government much more easily. 

…….Yet, the film effectively plays down the more sensational aspects of the investigation, providing a sober presentation of the details and a humanistic rendering of the people involved, even some of the lower level criminals, who are not movie gangsters but willing victims of a corrupt system: the root of the society’s problems.  The investigative reporter who was killed is shown to be an ordinary person, like us, with parents and a girlfriend (also murdered) he was about to marry.