Secrecy

A comprehensive documentary about government secrecy is, to say the least, an ambitious project, but Harvard professors Peter Galison and Robb Moss have managed it in this occasionally scattered yet effective film. As much about the history of secrecy as the secrets themselves, Secrecy traces a line from the seedlings of the Red Scare to our own times, with interviews from both sides of the issue. We learn that the Marine-barracks bombing in Beirut could’ve been avoided but for the press; yet the press also exposed the WMD scam. Innocent men are tortured in secret prisons halfway around the world, but a person who’s been there says that sometimes these tactics are necessary. Secrecy discovers few answers, and yet this ambivalence is its strength. Although it can mistake emotion for poignancy, the film teaches us to ask the right questions, and it makes clear the consequences if we don’t. 85 minutes | Brattle Theatre