THE BRINK – Review

To those of us who thought Steve Bannon’s far-right political influence ended when he parted ways with the Trump administration, THE BRINK is a jarring wake-up call. As director Allison Klayman reveals through her fly-on-the-wall documentary, Bannon may have left the White House but he has moved on to advising and promoting far-right Republicans, and more worrying, working with far-right political groups in Europe, in support of an ideology he calls “populist nationalism” that appeals to white-rights anti-immigrant groups and politicians.

In THE BRINK, Bannon proudly brags about being the architect of the Trump administration’s Muslim ban, which succinctly sums up much of Bannon’s mind-set. Since his exit from the White House, Bannon has campaigned for what he calls populist nationalism, both in the U.S. and in Europe, meeting with far-right candidates. Klayman follows Bannon around from Fall 2017 through the mid-term Congressional election in the fall of 2018, in this revealing, startling look at this force for political far right. It is a chilling, alarming peek inside Bannon’s work.

Klayman’s fly-on-the-wall approach is remarkably revealing. Bannon gave Klayman remarkable access, and she seems to follow him everywhere. There is no voice-over, no expert interviews providing analysis, and the documentarian only asks a few questions. Instead, she mostly lets Bannon do all the talking, which makes what’s on screen all the more chilling as well as insightful.

THE BRINK is one of two recent documentaries about far-right political strategist Steve Bannon, who went from running the far-right Breitbart website to working in Trump’s campaign and then the White House. The other documentary is AMERICAN DHARMA, by Errol Morris, the fabled documentarian behind FOG OF WAR. Actually, Morris film gets a mention in this documentary, when Klayman follows him to Venice for a film festival screening. Interestingly, Bannon does not actual go to the screening, instead holding meetings with a stream of right-wing politicians and activists in his hotel room.

Bannon is undeniably slick, surprisingly personable, good-humored and even charming. Bannon speaks in a breezy, relaxed manner, projecting charm and an air of reasonableness, something that is both unexpected and creepy given the extreme viewpoint he is advocating. Bannon is clearly a smooth talker, but it is what he does rather than what he says is the real key to this chilling documentary.

We watch Bannon as he meets with far-right politicians, not just here but in Europe, discussing his opposition to immigration and plans to dismantle the EU. Oddly, Bannon seems more interested in winning and the mechanics of his campaign than the ideas behind it, raising questions about who he works for. While he fires up groups of struggling ordinary people who feel left behind economically, he lives in a posh DC home, travels on private jets and stays in 5-star hotels, even joking about it at one point. Bannon seems to be doing very well financially, but where the money is coming from is largely obscured. At least one of Bannon’s funders is a Chinese businessman we meet in the film but generally Bannon is coy about where the money comes from for his work and lavish lifestyle.

Bannon does a lot of flag-waving and pro-American posturing, although his work is international, and does a lot of dog-whistling to racism ideology without actually saying it. Curiously, Bannon seems indifferent to his split with Trump, still finding Trump’s presidency a useful rallying point. In the run-up to the 2018 mid-terms, Bannon produces and distributes a pro-Trump film to be shown at rallies, a piece Bannon himself calls propaganda. “What would Leni Riefenstahl do?” he wonders with a chuckle, referencing Hilter’s filmmaker. Disturbingly, a group of right-leaning voters praise the film as “not propaganda.”

Klayman’s choice to just follow Bannon closely and let him do the talking makes THE BRINK one chilling ride. Anyone concerned about the rise of the far-right, here and in Europe, should run – not walk – to see this eye-opening documentary. THE BRINK opens Friday, April 19, at Landmark’s Plaza Frontenac Cinema.

RATING: 5 out of 5 stars