'Nisman: The Prosecutor, the President & the Spy' review: The documentary sheds light on an unresolved death
On January 19, 2015, the body of prosecutor Alberto Nisman was discovered in Buenos Aires, Argentina. His death was the subject of great controversy, as it came five days after Nisman had accused then President Christina Kirchner of concealment with regards to the 1994 AMIA bombing.
Many believed that Nisman's death had been ordered by President Kirchner, but there was no evidence that pointed to anything but a suicide.
Nisman was found on the floor of the bathroom in his hotel room in 2015. The cause of death was declared to be a gunshot wound to the head and the weapon was found on Nisman's body.
In 2017, however, the National Gendarmerie reported that Nisman was, in fact, murdered. Kicking off 2020, Netflix released a documentary entitled 'Nisman: The Prosecutor, the President, and the Spy' that takes an exhaustive look at the events surrounding Nisman's death. While many of the details surrounding Nisman's death remain unresolved, the documentary provides an impressive wealth of information, interviews and context.
The documentary is thoroughly researched, and includes a wealth of interviews of people involved in the case, including Antonio Jaime Stiuso, the titular "spy" who worked closely with Nisman on the AMIA case, and in collecting evidence against Kirchner.
Nearly everyone who had an important role to place in the case has been met with and talked to, with the notable exception of Kirchner herself.
With the vast amount of information available, the documentary divides it all into six specific categories, each covered by a separate episode — a general introduction to the situation, the initial investigation, the case built up by Nisman and Stiuso, the five days leading up to Nisman's death, the conflicting murder/suicide reports, and finally, where things stand now.
For the most part, Nisman is portrayed as a fighter. A middle class hero and an honourable man who fought ceaselessly for justice in the AMIA case. Though separated from his partner, he was a family man who cared deeply for his two daughters. There are hints, though, in reports, that Nisman was no angel, with mentions of his temperamental nature, womanizing, and possible bribery charges being made against him. The documentary, however, mostly shifts focus away from that as there's enough to deal with.
There are no clear answers surrounding Nisman, and the documentary steers clear of trying to suggest it has any of its own to provide.
The context provided makes the situation less clear with each new conflicting report. Despite the Gendarmarie report, Argentian President Alberto Fernandez maintains that there is no proof that Nisman was murdered. In a certain sense, that's true, as Episode 5 called 'Murder' explored.
While the Gendarmarie's report concluded that Nisman's death was a homicide, there's no concrete evidence of a person having been there. No DNA, no prints, no evidence that anyone but Nisman himself had been in the room around the time of his murder. That's not to say that anyone can comfortably claim that Nisman committed suicide either. The lack of gunpowder residue on Nisman's fingers that should have been there had he shot himself is a detail that is never satisfactorily resolved.
A lack of satisfying resolution is something one needs to get used to quickly. What the documentary does effectively is illustrate just why the situation is so complicated, and why we may never know the complete story.
For people seeking to be well informed on the issue, the documentary could not have done a better job. 'Nisman: The Prosecutor, the President and the Spy' is a chilling look into Argentinian politics and sheds light on one of the most important deaths of our time.
'Nisman: The Prosecutor, the President and the Spy' is steaming now on Netflix.