The story of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi will hit you like a ton of bricks in this breathtaking, earth-shattering documentary.

Writer-director Bryan Fogel — who found amazing success after Olympic doping film Icarus — details the disappearance and murder of the journalist at the consulate in Instanbul.

Considered an enemy of the state in home Saudi Arabia, when Khashoggi returns to get marriage documents in order so he can be with his fiancee, he walks into the building, but never returns out those doors.

The world as a whole questions Saudi leaders’ involvement in his disappearance, and his friends and fellow ‘dissidents’ clamour for answers. It is an awe-striking film that shows a horrific crime was committed with every level of Saudi government’s knowledge.

Quite frankly, I saw the film Friday night, and was so shaken that it took me until now to gather my thoughts. It’s one of the most affecting films I’ve seen in recent memory, and once you’ve become privvy to Jamal Khashoggi’s fate, there’s no going back.

The Dissident is a stunning feature and feat about an immeasurable tragedy.

5/5 Stars