‘The Brink’ Ventures Into the Dark Political Waters of Steve Bannon’s World

Depending on your political persuasion, Steve Bannon could be one of the most brilliant political minds of the decade or one of the most dangerous men in the world. “The Brink” attempts to be a sober, seemingly non-partisan portrait of Bannon, following him from late 2017 into late 2018 as he attempts to put his resources into the formation of a nationalist, cross-continental movement. It is the bookworm, Red Bull-chugging Bannon who has been credited by many analysts as the brain that got Donald Trump elected. Watching this new documentary by Alison Klayman, there’s little reason to doubt such an assertion. Bannon comes across as a 24-hour political animal, reading and scheming, jetting around the planet, devoted to a rather dark cause.

The documentary begins in late 2017. Bannon has recently become an independent operative again after having been fired from his position as White House chief strategist. Bannon now devotes himself to being a right-wing apostle of his doctrine of “Economic Nationalism,” meaning an anti-globalist agenda which seeks to curve immigration, foreign control of the economy and promote the masses over the “liberal elite.” It’s a rather foggy ideology without a definitive program, but as Bannon sees it, the world is ripe for such ideas and Trump was merely the historic tip of the iceberg. As Klayman follows Bannon, he has his sights set on two specific goals: The 2017 midterm elections and the 2019 European Union elections. When Klayman first catches up with Bannon he’s busy campaigning for Alabama’s Roy Moore, who is being dogged with allegations of sexual misconduct as he seeks the state senate seat. When Moore loses, Bannon simply dusts off and heads for Europe, where he focuses on building “The Movement,” an axis of far right European parties from countries like France, Belgium and Italy. Their main obsession seems to be immigration, but Bannon sees this as a wider struggle to preserve “western values.”

What Klayman does so well with “The Brink” is to let Bannon speak for himself. She never offers any narration or uses flashy editing. Instead what emerges is the portrait of a man who sees himself as an ideologue. It was Bannon who shaped the 2016 Trump campaign into an isolationist, immigration-obsessed vehicle that garnered the right states and votes to shock the world by winning the White House. An autodidact, obsessively reading history books, Bannon’s ego comes across when he quotes Abraham Lincoln or tells Klayman quite plainly that without him, Trump wouldn’t be president. And maybe this is what makes the man so dangerous. Unlike many blowhard right-wingers one usually sees among TV talking heads, Bannon reads, forms precise, albeit strange, ideas and looks for patterns in history (he sketches on a newspaper the importance of Iran and China as emerging economic partners). An idiot he is not. He basks in his infamy. Right before a radio show he wonders aloud if by mentioning on camera that he drinks Kombucha, the company’s stock might drop. The fact that media outlets made fun of his rather scruffy appearance during the campaign doesn’t phase him one bit. He’s a millionaire, chuckling that this documentary might burn him because it shows him flying in private jets and staying at five star hotels. But for him money is merely a tool to wage his ideological war. In one fascinating scene he stands by a window admitting that he hates the idea of doing anything else, this is his life.

Some of the more urgent, disturbing sections of the documentary play like a roll call of the emerging world right. Bannon holds court with quite the gallery of reactionaries. He has dinner with Nigel Farage, former leader of the right-wing UK Independence Party (UKIP), who gushes that Bannon is now the international face of their brand of politics. Later he meets with former Goldman Sachs CEO John Thornton, who warns about pushback by movements led by “the blacks and Hispanics.” And if you think Bannon’s brand of politics only appeals to those of Anglo Saxon variety, just watch the scene where he meets with expatriate Chinese billionaire Miles Kwok, who pledges money to Bannon’s movement and insists he knows how to help start a revolution against the Communist Party in China. Italy’s anti-immigrant Interior Minister Matteo Salvini makes an appearance, shaking Bannon’s hand to hear his pitch for “The Movement.” There is a chill in any progressive’s blood when a far-right Belgian politician tells Bannon what they need is support from the U.S. and Bannon replies, “we control the government.” Always in battle mode, Bannon quickly evades questions from a reporter about how some of his new friends, like those in the nationalist Hungarian government, seem to espouse anti-Semitic views. Klayman never cuts away and keeps the camera always on her subject, capturing revealing moments, like Bannon beaming after a contentious UK TV appearance that he loves strong women. While riding in a car through London he bemoans all the new shops with Middle Eastern names.

As the documentary culminates in the 2018 U.S. midterms, Bannon doubles down and goes on a speaking tour, gleefully smiling at any protesters in the audience (“she has the full right to protest, outside”). He also has an odd habit of repeating the same mantra everytime he takes a photo with a man and a woman in-between (“a rose and two thorns”).There’s almost no need for Klayman to badger him with questions because he is open about his worldview, admitting that for him the idea of propaganda is something positive as he explains his bombastic, YouTube piece “Trump@War.”

When the midterms result in a Democratic victory in the House, Bannon looks only momentarily deflated. He goes back on the road, mumbling that politicians are useless anyway for his agenda. In a way the audience who should watch this documentary immediately are progressives, because it is a fascinating, unnerving portrait that goes right into the heart of the beast. Forget Trump’s loud, bullish speeches, Bannon personifies the thinker in the shadows, hiding behind the curtain. One of his colleagues boasts that they were the ones behind the idea of “the wall.”

“The Brink” eventually becomes about more than just Steve Bannon. It is a portrait of the new strain of organized, right-wing political thought. Nothing may be more dangerous than a reactionary who is an actual idealist. Consider that soon after this documentary ends, Bannon advised the victorious far-right presidential campaign of Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil. By keeping the camera on Bannon, and allowing him to speak, Klayman may be warning us that we ignore or mock him at our own peril.

The Brink” opens March 29 in select theaters.