Once in a while a film comes along that is so unbelievably gripping and thought provoking that you can't help but be stunned by the knowledge and changed by the experience. Add in to that, a true story whereby the events unfold in real time and with accurate precognition, and you have yourself one hell of a documentary.
Titled after the pseudonym used by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, CITIZENFOUR is that story and it's all that and more. So much more.
Documented around the eight days political filmmaker Laura Poitras (MY COUNTRY, MY COUNTRY) spent filming Snowden's June 2013 interviews with journalists Glenn Greenwald and Ewen MacAskill, CITIZENFOUR is a front row seat to the NSA's cat-and-mouse hunt for Snowden after he divulges evidence of the NSA's covert global surveillance programs in his Hong Kong hotel.
Poitras was already working on the third instalment of her post 9/11 documentaries when she was emailed anonymously in January 2013 by a whistleblower known as CitizenFour who wished to provide her with documented evidence of the NSA's secret mass data surveillance programs that circumvented citizenry civil liberties. 'You asked why I picked you? I didn't. You did', CitizenFour told Poitras.
With the NSA as an adversary, CitizenFour maintained encrypted online communication with Poitras and Greenwald (a political and legal journalist who had come on board after being contacted by both CitizenFour and Poitras around the same time), until it was safe to meet face-to-face. Although Greenwald had yet experienced the unlimited reach of the NSA, Poitras was no stranger to harassment, intimidation and privacy invasion by the US government (approximately 40 times since 2006) and documents an example of this experience in the film's opening montage sequence.
In her Cinéma vérité style, the documentary centres itself as an observer to the meetings between CitizenFour, Greenwald, and MacAskill, as they discuss how to disclose to the public the NSA's metadata collection programs and its invasion of citizens' civil liberties veiled under the guise of national security.
It is these meetings, held intimately in Snowden's Mira hotel room, that are so unbelievably mesmerising to watch that you feel as if you are an integral part of this thrillingly dangerous enterprise against a powerful enemy with infinite reach. What is also striking (and humbling to see) is how poised Edward Snowden is throughout the film. Thoughtful and articulate, he knows exactly what he has done and that his actions may not lead to any consequences or outcome for the NSA and other intelligence organisations such as the GCHQ. He willingly accepts the risks and consequences of his actions stating 'I am more willing to risk imprisonment, or any other negative outcome personally, than I am to risk the curtailment of my intellectual freedom and that of those around me, whom I care for equally as I do for myself'.
His one regret, which you can't help but feel and empathise with from his words and tone, is the fact that his partner of ten years, Lindsay Mills, was completely unaware of Snowden's actions or whereabouts and that she would face government interrogation and intimidation alone when the NSA inevitably arrives (which occurs when Mills interrupts a HR representative and police officer from the NSA trying to gain access to their home).
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.
As the story comes to its temporary conclusion (Snowden's revelations are still unravelling even today) on screen, the viewer is included in a final intimate hotel room moment with Greenwald and Snowden (this time in Moscow), as Greenwald reveals in hand written notes, that another whistleblower has come forward. And they're ready to blow the lid with explosive evidence that names names all the way to the top. The President of the United States (POTUS) top.
This is a must see film absolutely worthy of your time. Not even Le Carré or Ludlum can compare to this thrill ride!
Titled after the pseudonym used by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, CITIZENFOUR is that story and it's all that and more. So much more.
Documented around the eight days political filmmaker Laura Poitras (MY COUNTRY, MY COUNTRY) spent filming Snowden's June 2013 interviews with journalists Glenn Greenwald and Ewen MacAskill, CITIZENFOUR is a front row seat to the NSA's cat-and-mouse hunt for Snowden after he divulges evidence of the NSA's covert global surveillance programs in his Hong Kong hotel.
Poitras was already working on the third instalment of her post 9/11 documentaries when she was emailed anonymously in January 2013 by a whistleblower known as CitizenFour who wished to provide her with documented evidence of the NSA's secret mass data surveillance programs that circumvented citizenry civil liberties. 'You asked why I picked you? I didn't. You did', CitizenFour told Poitras.
With the NSA as an adversary, CitizenFour maintained encrypted online communication with Poitras and Greenwald (a political and legal journalist who had come on board after being contacted by both CitizenFour and Poitras around the same time), until it was safe to meet face-to-face. Although Greenwald had yet experienced the unlimited reach of the NSA, Poitras was no stranger to harassment, intimidation and privacy invasion by the US government (approximately 40 times since 2006) and documents an example of this experience in the film's opening montage sequence.
In her Cinéma vérité style, the documentary centres itself as an observer to the meetings between CitizenFour, Greenwald, and MacAskill, as they discuss how to disclose to the public the NSA's metadata collection programs and its invasion of citizens' civil liberties veiled under the guise of national security.
It is these meetings, held intimately in Snowden's Mira hotel room, that are so unbelievably mesmerising to watch that you feel as if you are an integral part of this thrillingly dangerous enterprise against a powerful enemy with infinite reach. What is also striking (and humbling to see) is how poised Edward Snowden is throughout the film. Thoughtful and articulate, he knows exactly what he has done and that his actions may not lead to any consequences or outcome for the NSA and other intelligence organisations such as the GCHQ. He willingly accepts the risks and consequences of his actions stating 'I am more willing to risk imprisonment, or any other negative outcome personally, than I am to risk the curtailment of my intellectual freedom and that of those around me, whom I care for equally as I do for myself'.
His one regret, which you can't help but feel and empathise with from his words and tone, is the fact that his partner of ten years, Lindsay Mills, was completely unaware of Snowden's actions or whereabouts and that she would face government interrogation and intimidation alone when the NSA inevitably arrives (which occurs when Mills interrupts a HR representative and police officer from the NSA trying to gain access to their home).
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.
As the story comes to its temporary conclusion (Snowden's revelations are still unravelling even today) on screen, the viewer is included in a final intimate hotel room moment with Greenwald and Snowden (this time in Moscow), as Greenwald reveals in hand written notes, that another whistleblower has come forward. And they're ready to blow the lid with explosive evidence that names names all the way to the top. The President of the United States (POTUS) top.
This is a must see film absolutely worthy of your time. Not even Le Carré or Ludlum can compare to this thrill ride!