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Ithaka

Name: Ithaka
Director: Ben Lawrence
Released: 2022
Duration: 111 min

Representation Score

8.1/10

Excellent

2022

Director

Ben Lawrence

Runtime

111 minutes

Average Rating

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New Showbiz Analysis

Ithaka succeeds by transforming a large geopolitical conflict into an intimate, domestic portrait. It moves away from the archetype of the political prisoner to focus on the personal toll of state-driven judicial processes on a family. The film's strength lies in its institutional skepticism. By highlighting the struggle of an individual against a monolithic state apparatus, it challenges the perceived infallibility of Western legal hegemony. However, the film lacks breadth in identity-based representation. The narrative remains tightly bound to the specific biographical subjects, offering little engagement with LGBTQ+ or diverse racial perspectives.

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Category Breakdown

Does Ithaka have LGBTQ+ representation?

Fair

The film focuses on familial bonds and political struggles. It does not center on LGBTQ+ themes or dynamics outside of straight relationships.

How does Ithaka portray gender?

Fair

The narrative challenges traditional power structures by emphasizing the emotional impact on family members. It shifts focus from 'great man' history to the roles of caregivers.

How racially and ethnically diverse is Ithaka?

Fair

The racial composition aligns with the specific biographical subjects. There is no significant racial blending within the primary subject matter.

How does Ithaka represent religion and culture?

Excellent

The film engages deeply with themes of systemic critique. It frames Western legal and governmental institutions as potentially oppressive and corrupt.

Does Ithaka include disability representation?

Good

The documentary documents the physical and mental decline of an individual in a carceral setting. It uses physical vulnerability to critique systemic confinement conditions.

Present on Screen

Provides a profound critique of Western institutional authority and state power.
Humanizes a global political figure by focusing on intimate familial connections.
Uses physical vulnerability to highlight the systemic pressures of carceral environments.

Limited or Absent

Lacks significant engagement with LGBTQ+ themes or non-straight dynamics.
Shows limited racial and ethnic diversity within the primary subject matter.
Focus remains narrow, centered strictly on the specific biographical case.

Official Synopsis

The campaign to free Julian Assange takes on intimate dimensions in this documentary portrait of an elderly man’s fight to save his son. Arguably the world’s most famous political prisoner, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is a figure pretty much everybody has an opinion about; perhaps more importantly, he serves as the emblem of an international arm wrestle over freedom of journalism, government corruption and unpunished war crimes. For his family members who face the prospect of losing him forever to the abyss of the US justice system, however, this David-and-Goliath struggle is personal – and, with his health declining in a British maximum-security prison and American government prosecutors pulling out all the stops to extradite him, the clock is ticking.

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