Surveilled

An incredibly important topic, but sadly this doc is ruined by the fact Farrow seems to be the president of his own fanclub and apparently had to make sure he's in every second frame. We get it, you're a big time hot shot. However, this movie would have greatly benefitted from him taking a step back - literally - and let the troubling facts speak for themselves. A good documenary filmmaker is invisible. At least if your name is not Louis Theroux. Somebody should pass that info along to Farrow. Massively wasted opportunity and a rare miss from the otherwise very strong HBO documentary departement.

As "Surveilled" (2024 release; 61 min) opens, we are in "Tel Aviv, March 2022" and investigative reporter Ronan Farrer is speaking with someone about Pegasus, the spyware made and owned by Israeli company NSO Group. Pegasus is the best known of the spywares out there and is completely intrusive. It can access any and all smart phone remotely and completely, with you ever knowing about it. At this point we are less than 10 minutes into the documentary.

Couple of comments: while the upsides of spywares are obvious (to combat terrorists and murderers), the downsides are even scarier (to track political opponents, etc.). And as this documentary shows, the latter is being done more and more (the Spanish government used it to track Catalan politicians in favor of splitting from Spain). All super interesting stuff. Alas, at just 60 minutes, it all flies by in no time. I wish that Ferrar and the film makers had spent a little more time digging around to show more examples of authorities abusing the spyware for political advantage. When asked how to curb a nefarious use of spyware like Pegasus, a talking head laments "you can't put the spyware genie back into the bottle, I'm afraid". In other words: it's going to get (a lot) worse before it'll get better...

"Surveilled" recently started showing on HBO and streaming on Max, where I caught it the other night. If you have an interest better understanding the potential (up and down) of spyware like Pegasus, this is a good starter (but the last word on this is surely yet to come). I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.

Unfortunately, this documentary is nowhere near as hard hitting as it makes out to be. The scope of the investigation is rather narrow. Especially given the accusations about countries in the Middle East and Africa abusing modern surveillance technology, none of this is actually substantiated. Instead the investigation focuses on one ology provider (who opened their doors willingly in a PR trust exercise), the US, and Spain. To make things worse, the style of the documentation is heavily focused on the author and narrator, Ronan Farrow, and therefore turns into a personality show about him, rather than the real subject matter. This leaves the viewer with a sense of a missed opportunity.

H, HBO, how the mighty have fallen. Once a beacon of insightful and nuanced documentaries, you've now apparently decided to trade substance for sensationalism with 'Surveilled.' This supposed 'documentary' feels less like investigative journalism and more like a poorly scripted scare tactic designed to whip the public into a frenzy of paranoia.

The premise, a shallow dive into the supposed omnipresence of surveillance, is delivered with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer. Instead of presenting balanced arguments and exploring the complexities of the issue, we're subjected to a relentless barrage of ominous music, distorted visuals, and breathless pronouncements of impending doom. It's less a documentary and more a horror movie, minus the jump scares (though, the sheer level of manipulative editing certainly tries).

And let's talk about the 'experts' featured in this production. A parade of individuals, each seemingly chosen for their ability to deliver pronouncements with maximum gravitas, their voices often artificially deepened or otherwise altered to sound 'authoritative'. The vocal fry epidemic is also in full effect, with every other interviewee sounding like they're struggling to keep their voice from descending into a gravel pit. It's less informative and more like a bizarre vocal exercise.

The once-respected HBO Documentary Films brand has been tarnished by this exercise in fearmongering. Where are the in-depth explorations? The nuanced perspectives? The balanced analysis? Instead, we're left with a shallow, manipulative piece of 'journalism' that prioritizes shock value over substance. It's a sad day when HBO, a network that once championed thoughtful documentaries, descends into the realm of cheap, sensationalist drivel. If 'Surveilled' is any indication, HBO's documentary division has lost its way, trading its legacy for a quick and dirty attempt to scare the public. Avoid at all costs."

While much of the content of this film has already been in the public information stream for some time (see Nicole Perlroth's "This Is How They Tell Me the World Ends: The Cyberweapons Arms Race" from 2021), it couldn't be a more timely warning in the wake of the 2024 presidential election.

I give the movie 10 stars as a wake up call to all who care about privacy, transparency, democracy and our drift towards the Surveillance State. We can and we must talk about this ceaselessly.

I give it only 5 stars for not addressing the surveillance abuses in China and Russia.

While it mentions the ban on federal use of such "commercial" programs, the film doesn't address the abuses local law enforcement have and could wield in the name of public safety.

Finally, it's concerning that the movie's narrow focus on a singular program by a single company could lessen the impact of the message of this movie. Hopefully viewers will grasp that Pegasus is the "canary in the coal mine," so to speak. The US government may currently prohibit the purchase of commercial spy programs. But government-developed programs are still viable. And once those get into the wild, as they surely will, it will be impossible to close Pandora's Box.