Review: Documentary ‘All Governments Lie’ takes mainstream media to task

For his feature documentary debut, director Fred Peabody brings on big-name investigative journalists such as Matt Taibbi, Jeremy Scahill, Glenn Greenwald, Amy Goodman and others to create a damning indictment of mainstream media. “All Governments Lie: Truth, Deception, and the Spirit of I.F. Stone” weaves together the efforts of these contemporary figures with the impact of Stone, who covered Lyndon B. Johnson, the Vietnam War and more, largely through his newsletter “I.F. Stone’s Weekly.”

“All Governments Lie” uses interviews with contemporary journalists and anti-establishment figures and historical film to demonstrate the need for a truly free press and its role in a democracy. With a sobering tone, it argues that mainstream media is intertwined with business through corporate ownership and advertising. Talking heads including Michael Moore, Noam Chomsky and Ralph Nader emphasize the impact that Stone had on his time as well as how he influenced independent journalists today.

Featuring footage from the last six decades, “All Governments Lie” is a timely, convincing documentary that will cause audiences to question what they see and read. It offers insight into Democracy Now’s 2015 coverage of the Yemeni Civil War, as well as the 2016 presidential election. It’s remarkably nonpartisan, revealing that the title does indeed refer to every government and politician, even those that we admire and align our ideals with.

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‘All Governments Lie: Truth, Deception, and the Spirit of I.F. Stone’

Not rated

Running time: 1 hour, 31 minutes

Playing: Laemmle Music Hall , Beverly Hills

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