---
title: "We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks"
year: 2013
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/we-steal-secrets-the-story-of-wikileaks"
fi1m_id: "we-steal-secrets-the-story-of-wikileaks"
imdb_id: "tt1824254"
tmdb_id: 159154
wikidata_id: "Q7977781"
fi1m_score: 74
critics_score: 71
critics_reviews: 17
published: "2026-10-01T22:56:17.149856+00:00"
updated: "2026-10-01T22:56:40.187297+00:00"
region: "ZA"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks (2013)

Directed by Alex Gibney · 2h 07m · Documentary, Drama

## Identity

We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/we-steal-secrets-the-story-of-wikileaks
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** we-steal-secrets-the-story-of-wikileaks
- **IMDb ID:** tt1824254
- **TMDB ID:** 159154
- **Wikidata ID:** Q7977781
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1824254/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/159154, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7977781

**Fi1m score: 74** · Critics 71 from 17 reviews

*In a sentence:* A documentary about WikiLeaks that could have trusted us to read without so much decoration

> Alex Gibney makes the WikiLeaks story accessible and gives Chelsea Manning’s messages proper attention. It is compelling, moving documentary work, held back by an uneven structure and too much fascination with Julian Assange.

## Synopsis

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange appears in archive footage as Alex Gibney traces the people behind the organisation’s disclosures. Journalist Heather Brooke and former WikiLeaks spokesperson Daniel Domscheit-Berg offer perspectives on its work. Former NSA and CIA director Michael Hayden contributes the perspective of someone whose work involves keeping secrets.

Chelsea Manning, a WikiLeaks source, also appears through archive material. Gibney follows the effort to bring confidential information into public view, using interviews and Manning’s online messages to introduce the people involved. The account moves between Assange’s public presence and a source’s private conversations, examining the demands that disclosure places on those doing it.

## Review

Alex Gibney’s *We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks* is a good introduction to a difficult subject, though it spends too long trying to make its founder explain the whole enterprise. It wants to understand how confidential information becomes public, who makes that happen and what it costs them. Gibney keeps the material accessible and allows conflicting views enough space to become interesting. The trouble is that the personal disputes become more absorbing than the questions about disclosure, and the film does too little to correct that drift.

Julian Assange is a compelling subject for this approach, and an awkward one. He appears through archive footage, so there is a limit to how directly Gibney can test the impressions supplied by other people. The glimpse of Assange dancing alone to disco music is welcome because it gives us something to look at beyond the public figure being discussed. It also shows the limitation: an unguarded moment can make someone more approachable without explaining their decisions.

Chelsea Manning is where the film becomes more attentive. The online chat messages bring the scale down to words sent by one person to another, and Gibney lets those words carry emotional weight that the larger account sometimes struggles to find. We were moved by Manning’s messages, because they make the distress of the person supplying the information impossible to overlook. They give us a reason to care about the source beyond the disclosures themselves.

Andy Grieve’s editing makes the movement between Assange and Manning clear, which matters when the film has so many voices to accommodate. The candid interviews keep that movement from feeling like a procession of official statements. Maryse Alberti’s cinematography serves those interviews well: the speakers hold our attention without needing the surrounding graphics to make their words interesting. The visual embellishments elsewhere are less persuasive, often giving us another thing to watch when we would rather think about what has just been said.

Will Bates’s music adds urgency, but urgency is not always what this material needs. At 127 minutes, the film has room to weigh its competing accounts more patiently. Instead, its embellishments sometimes hurry us past a question that deserves more time, while the portrait of Assange receives another pass. Grieve keeps individual passages moving, but the amount of attention given to each subject remains frustratingly uneven.

An investigative documentary needs to help us judge how much each interview actually establishes. Gibney is right to scrutinise the people handling secrets rather than assume their stated principles settle every question about their conduct. But the attention paid to Assange’s elusive personality does not always help us understand WikiLeaks. The broader account feels unfinished, and the confidence of the presentation can make that limitation easy to miss.

We would recommend it as an introduction, with a warning against accepting the portrait of Assange as a settled account. Allow room afterwards to question how much one person’s behaviour can explain about an organisation built around disclosure. And give Manning’s words your closest attention.

*Fi1m score 74, published 1 October 2026.*

## What the critics say

Most critics find Alex Gibney’s documentary compelling and informative, praising his ability to make the complexities of WikiLeaks accessible without avoiding their moral grey areas. The strongest agreement concerns Manning: the reviews repeatedly identify the emotional turmoil and on-screen chat messages as the film’s most affecting material. Gibney’s interweaving of Manning’s story with Assange’s also earns praise, though enthusiasm for the investigative storytelling is broader than confidence in the film’s conclusions.

Reservations centre on an unfinished story, uneven structure and an Assange portrait that leaves its subject elusive. Several broadly favourable reviews find the personal stories more satisfying than the political examination. The spread is substantial: Variety finds the central conflict dramatically weak while still singling out Manning as memorable. Slant Magazine offers the sharpest dissent, arguing that flashy graphics and superficial intrigue take the place of deeper political and psychological insight.

## Straight answers

**Is We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks worth watching?**

*We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks* is worth watching as an accessible introduction to WikiLeaks, and we score it 74 out of 100. We were moved by Chelsea Manning’s messages, which make the source’s distress difficult to overlook, but the uneven structure and excessive attention to Julian Assange mean we recommend it with reservations about how fully it explains the organisation.

**How long is We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks, and what is it rated?**

*We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks* runs 2h 07m. It is a documentary and drama film.

**Where can I watch We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks in South Africa?**

*We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks* is available to rent from Apple TV from R34.99. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service.

**How violent or frightening is We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks, and is it suitable for children?**

*We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks* carries a US R certificate, so we would not recommend it for children. Manning’s online messages convey personal distress that can be upsetting, and the subject suits an adult audience interested in secrecy and disclosure; the certificate alone does not establish how much violence or other explicit content it contains.

**How does We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks compare to Citizenfour?**

*We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks* offers a broader introduction to an organisation, but we recommend [*Citizenfour*](https://film.one/film/citizenfour) as the more focused, less visually distracting documentary about people handling secrets. *Citizenfour* gains tension from Laura Poitras’s presence as Edward Snowden starts talking, though its surrounding material is thinner; Gibney’s film suits viewers specifically interested in WikiLeaks and Manning’s messages.

**What should I watch after We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks?**

After *We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks*, try [*Citizenfour*](https://film.one/film/citizenfour) (2014, Fi1m 83): Stays close to the people handling secrets, with less distracting decoration. Then [*The Thin Blue Line*](https://film.one/film/the-thin-blue-line) (1988, Fi1m 90): A patient examination of testimony, evidence and who gets to establish the facts; and [*The Lives of Others*](https://film.one/film/the-lives-of-others) (2006, Fi1m 84): For the human cost of surveillance, explored through fiction and private loyalties.

### Reviews we read (17)

- **IndieWire**, Gabe Toro (A-): Toro considers the documentary vital and compelling despite its unfinished feel. He praises its clear-eyed focus on Bradley Manning and the deaths revealed in leaked military footage. [Read](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/culture/review-provocative-doc-we-steal-secrets-the-story-of-wikileaks-is-essential-immediate-viewing-97721/)
- **Los Angeles Times**, Mark Olsen (90/100, inferred): Olsen calls the documentary a gripping, ambitious major work. He praises how Gibney skillfully interweaves the stories of Assange and Manning, especially Manning’s emotional online chats. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-xpm-2013-may-23-la-et-mn-we-steal-secrets-review-wikileaks-julian-assange-20130524-story.html)
- **Empire**, Philip Wilding (80/100, inferred): Wilding finds the documentary a dynamic, smart and fine examination of the WikiLeaks story. He particularly praises its heartbreaking portrayal of Bradley Manning and its willingness to tackle the story’s grey areas. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/steal-secrets-story-wikileaks-review/)
- **Time Out**, Trevor Johnston (4/5): The review is strongly positive about the documentary. It praises Alex Gibney’s skill at unpicking complex issues through investigative filmmaking. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/we-steal-secrets-the-story-of-wikileaks)
- **The AV Club**, A.A. Dowd (B): Dowd finds the documentary informative but uneven, with Assange’s absence leaving it unbalanced. He praises its accessible overview and the human focus on Bradley Manning’s story. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/we-steal-secrets-the-story-of-wikileaks-1798176873)
- **Vulture**, David Edelstein (B): Edelstein finds the documentary enthralling and probing, with its personal story ultimately overtaking its political revelations. He praises Gibney’s interwoven account of Bradley Manning as especially affecting. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/2013/05/movie-review-we-steal-secrets.html)
- **Evening Standard**, The Standard (75/100, inferred): The Standard finds Gibney’s documentary an entertaining, thoughtful polemic and a useful introduction to WikiLeaks. It particularly praises the endearing moment of Assange dancing alone to disco music. [Read](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/we-steal-secrets-the-story-of-wikileaks-film-review-8705094.html)
- **The Guardian**, Jeremy Kay (65/100, inferred): Kay finds the documentary thoughtful but says it reveals little about Assange, its central mystery. He praises its poignant account of Bradley Manning’s story as its most memorable achievement. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/jan/23/we-steal-secrets-wikileaks-review)
- **Screen Daily**, Anthony Kaufman (64/100, inferred): This is a review of Alex Gibney’s documentary, but the accessible page does not reveal the critic’s verdict. The paywall also prevents identifying what the critic singles out for praise or complaint. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/we-steal-secrets-the-story-of-wikileaks/5050934.article)
- **The New York Times** (64/100, inferred): The page could not be accessed, so its verdict cannot be verified. No praise or complaint from the critic is available in the provided page text. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/24/movies/we-steal-secrets-a-documentary-on-wikileaks.html)
- **Variety**, Peter Debruge (50/100, inferred): Debruge finds the portrait feisty but dramatically lacking, with the WikiLeaks story’s central conflict failing to compel. He singles out Bradley Manning, whose conflicted character leaves the strongest impression. [Read](https://variety.com/2013/film/reviews/we-steal-secrets-the-story-of-wikileaks-1117949111/)
- **Slant Magazine**, Nick McCarthy (1.5/4): McCarthy finds the documentary muddled and lacking perspective, with flashy presentation undermining its political aims. He criticizes its superficial intrigue and says it favors snazzy graphics over deeper insight into its subjects. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/we-steal-secrets-the-story-of-wikileaks/)
- **Digital Spy**, Emma Dibdin (4/5): Dibdin finds the documentary breathlessly compelling but troubling and ultimately unresolved. She especially praises its psychological probing, including the moving portrayal of Bradley Manning. [Read](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a496505/we-steal-secrets-the-story-of-wikileaks-review/)
- **HeyUGuys**, Andrew Jones (4/5): Jones calls the documentary shocking, informative, and important, though its storytelling embellishments make it an imperfect slog. He praises its fascinating material and candid interviews, while criticizing its sometimes awkward structure. [Read](https://www.heyuguys.com/we-steal-secrets-the-story-of-wikileaks/)
- **Paste**, Annlee Ellingson (7.2): Ellingson finds the documentary fascinating and provocative, though its story feels unfinished and its focus too narrow. She singles out Manning’s on-screen chat messages as especially compelling and sympathetic. [Read](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/we-steal-secrets-the-story-of-wikileaks)
- **Eye for Film**, Robert Munro (70/100, inferred): Munro finds that Gibney’s film mostly does justice to the people behind WikiLeaks, though Assange remains elusive. He singles out Chelsea Manning’s sacrifices and emotional turmoil as the story’s human heart. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/we-steal-secrets-the-story-of-wikileaks-2013-film-review-by-robert-munro)
- **Den of Geek**, Nick Horton (3/5): Horton finds the documentary compelling and well made, but ultimately incomplete and frustratingly unbalanced. He praises its engaging account of WikiLeaks’ early history and its visually exciting storytelling. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/we-steal-secrets-the-story-of-wikileaks-review/)

## Details

- **Director:** Alex Gibney
- **Director:** Alex Gibney
- **Writer:** Alex Gibney
- **Cinematography:** Maryse Alberti
- **Editor:** Andy Grieve
- **Music:** Will Bates
- **Producer:** Alexis Bloom, Alex Gibney, Marc Shmuger
- **Cast:** Julian Assange as Self - Founder, WikiLeaks (archive footage); Chelsea Manning as Self - WikiLeaks Source (archive footage); Heather Brooke as Self - Journalist; Alex Gibney as Narrator (voice); Robert Manne as Self - Professor, La Trobe University, Melbourne; John 'Fuzface' McMahon as Self - NASA Network Administrator; Michael Hayden as Self - Former NSA and CIA Director; J. William Leonard as Self - U.S. Government Classification Czar
- **Runtime:** 2h 07m
- **First release (Sweden):** 24 May 2013
- **Genres:** Documentary, Drama
- **Box office:** $602,042

## Where to watch in South Africa

- Apple TV: rent R34.99, hd
- Apple TV: buy R129.99, sd

*Checked 2026-10-01.*

Also available in: AE, AR, AT, AU, BE, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HK, IE, IL, IN, JP, KR, MX, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PH, PL, PT, SE, SG, TH, US, VN, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## If you liked this

- *Citizenfour* (2014), Fi1m 83: Stays close to the people handling secrets, with less distracting decoration. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/citizenfour.md)
- *The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers* (2009): Another source of government secrets, with more room for the political consequences.
- *The Thin Blue Line* (1988), Fi1m 90: A patient examination of testimony, evidence and who gets to establish the facts. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-thin-blue-line.md)
- *The Lives of Others* (2006), Fi1m 84: For the human cost of surveillance, explored through fiction and private loyalties. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-lives-of-others.md)
- *Collective* (2019), Fi1m 88: Follows investigative work closely enough to make each new finding matter. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/collective.md)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/we-steal-secrets-the-story-of-wikileaks