Film Review: Citizenfour
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5/5
World-renowned director and producer Laura Poitras brought the documentary film Citizenfour to our screens in 2014, documenting the revelations of whistle-blower Edward Snowden.
For those who’ve heard of Snowden but don’t know the ins-and-outs of what he did, that’s why Poitras’ film and style is so excellent. She is able to communicate the severity of the information leaked by Snowden in a way that makes sense to an ordinary, curious mind. There’s no pomp or fluff in the film – it’s cutting edge, live fact.
Edward Snowden worked for the NSA, which is America’s National Security Agency. Snowden had access to highly sensitive files that showed the NSA had been spying and collecting data on pretty much every American citizen without them knowing about it. He also had some interesting information about GCHQ, the British version of the agency that was so dangerous The Guardian was worried about publishing it for fear of legal issues and pressure from the UK government.
Citizenfour is a gripping and compelling story of Snowden’s leaks that show him to be a principled, brave man who was willing from day one to risk his own life to give the truth to the world about American intelligence. Laura Poitras and colleague Glenn Greenwald are almost as brave, risking their own security to tell Snowden’s story as it happened with her footage of Snowden as the leak broke to the world in a hotel room in Hong Kong.
This film is a must-watch for anyone interested in intelligence, governments, whistle-blowers, journalism or even Edward Snowden. You’ll finish it a great deal more savvy than you were when you started.