Each century has its own distinctive dreams and nightmares. The last century was concerned with (and then haunted by) nuclear weapons, before and after the Hiroshima bombings. And now as we begin the 21st century, we seem to have a new set of national and international fears and anxieties.
Zero Days, Alex Gibney’s new documentary, which reflects these new concerns, unfolds as an espionage thriller of the highest order in its focus on the world of cyberwar.
The film aims to chronicle the complete story of Stuxnet, a piece of self-replicating computer malware, known as a “worm” for its ability to burrow from computer to computer on its own.
The U.S. and Israel unleashed this malware to destroy a key part of an Iranian nuclear facility, and which ultimately spread beyond its intended target.
According to the filmmaker, Zero Days is the most comprehensive accounting to date of how a clandestine mission hatched by two allies, one Superpower, the other small but advanced country, defined by clashing agendas opened the Pandora’s Box of cyberwarfare.
Though it is not meant for them, dissatisfied Internet conspiracy theorists will have a field day with this docu, and extra-information to fuel their paranoia.
MPAA Rating: PG 13
