Approached by CITIZENFOUR, journalists Glenn Greenwald and Ewen MacAskill along with documentary filmmaker Laura Poitras fly to Hong Kong in the summer of 2013 to meet with the man who ended up being Edward Snowden to discuss and divulge secret information regarding covert surveillance programs run by the NSA and other intelligence programs of American and international citizens.
The documentary is a thrilling and terrifying account of the actions that transpired before, during and after the groundbreaking reports were leaked and the turn of events by the American government. This review of CITIZENFOUR is not going to be a debate regarding the right or wrong of whistle-blowing or the government collection of data. That discussion can be saved for when someone mentions that they have seen CITIZENFOUR and an debate-like argument will indubitably ensue. This review will try to focus, as much as it can, on the scope of its impact and effectiveness of the film as a documentary.
As the first story brakes regarding the NSA's program PRISM (a court approved program that gives front door access to all users' accounts communications from Google and Yahoo) in The Guardian and The Washington Post two days after their initial meeting on 3rd June 2014, the US government immediately goes on the defensive as media outlets around the globe gain traction and mediate the revelations. From 'urging' outlets to not disclose companies involved in their programs to secret felony charges filed against Snowden on 14th June 2014 (including two under the Espionage Act of 1917) and Snowden's allusion on the 21st July 2014 that he received communications stating that the US government has told other nations to seek out people working with him and to use any pressure necessary to get to him, the US government wanted the revelations suppressed.
What is amazing about the ensuing events that occur as Snowden makes preparations for political asylum is that each event unravels just as Snowden predicted on screen, giving credence to the heroisms of his motivations and actions.
"Citizenfour" is an alarming and terrifying expose that works as both a tense, real-life espionage thriller and as a thoroughly engrossing documentary. It all sounds like prophecy now, given the way things turned out. Yet, despite all its paranoia, the movie does offer a glimmer of optimism.
8.2/10·IMDb
98%·Rotten Tomatoes
88%-Metacritics
8/10-Verdict
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