IT IS a story full of complexity and trauma, and largely unknown to a wider audience who view its subject as merely a publisher of classified military intelligence. Yet the teenage years of Julian Assange – now the subject of a gripping film – will again stir vigorous debate.
Underground, the latest political thriller from writer-director Robert Connolly – which had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on Saturday night – homes in on Assange’s troubled upbringing, in an effort to make sense of his present predicament. The embattled WikiLeaks founder, currently holed up behind the walls of the Ecuadorian embassy in London, remains fearful of being extradited to the US for publishing the leaks.
“I knew a lot about the current situation, but had very little knowledge of that period in history,” says Connolly, whose previous political thrillers include Balibo and The Bank (which also both screened in Toronto). “It was something of a revelation to me.”

In Connolly’s new film – which is enjoying repeated screenings at the film festival, such is the level of interest – the teenage Assange (played by newcomer Alex Williams) is a quiet but determined computer geek. He has been on the run with his family for nine years, attempting to escape the clutches of an Aryan cult that claims his stepfather among their leading members.
By the age of 17, while living in Melbourne, he becomes a father. Shortly after, in 1991, he is charged with 31 counts of computer fraud, having hacked into the US military’s top-secret Gulf War machine. To his horror, he has discovered civilian targets are being deliberately bombed as part of the American campaign. His attempt to expose the truth sets him on the path he finds himself on today.
“Looking back at how and when his moral and political compass came together was fascinating,” says Connolly, who co-wrote the screenplay with SBS journalist Mark Davis, who has interviewed Assange extensively in the past. “There are several narrative elements in there that are really going to surprise people.”
It is far from being an “authorised version” of events. Connolly sought only Assange’s blessing on the film, not his input. And though he refuses to be drawn on the current situation, he is quick to echo the film’s co-star, Anthony LaPaglia, with his comments following the film’s premiere. Assange, LaPaglia declared, deserves a fair hearing.
“The Australian government should be asking, ‘Why is the Swedish government so aggressively trying to get him in their country for questioning?’” Connolly says. “No charges have been laid. If he went to Sweden, he’d be extradited to the US. And what the charges would be in the US, we don’t know. The most significant thing is, it’s the first time an Australian has sought asylum to avoid going to the US. Which is a fascinating part of history.”
Underground – a taut thriller very much in the spirit of Connolly’s previous political films – proves a gripping, tense, exquisitely paced experience. It boasts excellent performances from a fine cast (Rachel Griffiths also stars, as Assange’s politically minded mother). Australians will soon have the opportunity to see it, when it screens on the Ten Network in October. Which, Connolly adds, will prove very interesting indeed.
“Our Q&A host on Saturday said to me afterward, ‘I had a view about Julian Assange, which has now changed considerably, having seen this film,’ he says. “Which I thought was amazing: that cinema can provide the opportunity to complicate something that people may have had a very simple view about.
“Anthony’s comment about the presumption of innocence, that no charges have been laid against him anywhere in the world, including Sweden, is true. He said, ‘I just want someone, somewhere in the world to tell me what he’s being charged with.’ Which is not too much to expect from our government, is it?”

Underground will air on Ten in October, date yet to be announced. Ed Gibbs – SMH – September 11, 2012 – 12:02PM

Trailer here:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGp3mUIemL0