User reviews

I thought Citizenfour was quite powerful as a humanizing portrayal of Snowden. I didn't learn anything new particularly about NSA programs, since I've been reading each story I come across, but the film quite effectively transported me into Snowden's hotel room in Hong Kong and into conversations with Snowden, Greenwald, Poitras and MacAskill. Snowden comes off as a completely responsible, quite sincere, thoughtful young man. He very clearly and explicitly says that he does not want to be the story, and one believes him. Whereas Assange can impress people as narcissistic and Bradley/Chelsea Manning's sexual confusion was only one of a number of facets which distracted from Cablegate, Snowden sounds like a young Ellsberg – very intelligent and well-spoken.

Poitras's style was interesting, I thought. The camera a number of times holds for lengthy periods on fairly static shots of architecture, which served to impress the viewer with the monolithic, pervasive nature of the NSA's networks. There's a long disorienting shot out the window of a train at night or going through a tunnel, which draws you into the dark network Snowden's revealing.

The film successfully touches on a number of different aspects of the surveillance state, bringing in the idea that when we talk about "privacy" we're talking about security, about our constitutional right to freedom from unlawful search and seizure. I think this is a hard sell for too many viewers. I don't fault the film here. I saw it with a friend who was a few minutes late because she was watching the Giants' game. In discussing the movie afterward she questioned just how important some of the issues raised were. Greenwald and others speak passionately about the dangers of the surveillance state, but my date pointed out that she can't feel much fear that the NSA is going to be breaking down her door because of anything she's said on the phone or in e-mail. My own experience is that friends and colleagues on the one hand self-censor and don't mention politics, drugs, Bittorrent use, etc. in e-mail or social media for fear of the all-knowing eye, or on the other hand seem oblivious to any danger – why worry about Google programmatically reading every single e-mail sent or received, if it means free e-mail and potentially more accurate search results when shopping? Snowden at one point convincingly says he doesn't think it is possible for anyone no matter how brilliant and educated to individually fight all the electronic surveillance systems in existence. We're told of the multitude of methods of surveillance and repeatedly shown NSA officials blatantly lying to Congress about their existence. The lack of accountability for this last has been personally troubling to me – I remember Watergate and Iran-Contra – how is it that the heads of the NSA can with impunity flat out lie to Congress about spying on American citizens? What will viewers come away with when walking out of the theater after Citizenfour? I'm wondering how many will see it as a call to action, and how many as a well-executed depiction of Edward Snowden's experience, which may not be seen as intersecting our own.

Greetings again from the darkness. Edward Snowden. You know the name and you know the story. Hero of the People or Enemy of the State? Ultimate Patriot or a double-spy for the Russians? Protected as a Whistle-Blower or Guilty of Treason? Chances are you long ago made up your mind on how you view Ed (his stated name preference).

In January 2013, Snowden contacted documentarian Laura Poitras via an anonymous email name "Citizenfour". By June, the two were meeting in a Hong Kong hotel along with journalist Glenn Greenwald. What follows is a mesmerizing look at the actual footage shot of Greenwald interviewing Snowden. This is Ed Snowden before the media storm. This is Ed Snowden continually proclaiming that he is not the story, and he is trusting Greenwald to determine what documents are fit for public release. He voices concern about jeopardizing national security, while at the same time being adamant about exposing the immense and widespread governmental tracking of digital movements by millions of people … most with no known ties to terrorism.

The timeline is public record, so the core of the film is really an intimate look at the man who, acutely aware of the coming fallout, proceeded with pulling the curtain back on NSA actions that he deemed inappropriate. Ms. Poitras structures the film as a thriller, and it will certainly cause tension in every viewer. We can't help but put ourselves in Snowden's shoes. Would we feel the need to go public with proof? Who would we tell? How would we tell them? Would we be willing to release our name, knowing it could put everyone we love in danger? Would we be prepared to watch our President publicly call us out as unpatriotic and a danger to the nation? These questions are impossible for us to answer, but add weight to the scenes of Snowden answering Greenwald's questions while Ms. Poitras works the camera.

One of the more interesting points made in the movie is that what we once termed individual freedom and liberties, is now couched as privacy. We have come to expect our privacy, and certainly don't appreciate our government digging through our emails, search history, texts and phone calls. But how to balance the individual "right" to privacy with the government's need to collect intelligence in the name of national security? That's the key question, and one with no clear answer.

Regardless of your opinion on Snowden and his actions, the film presents him as an idealist believing he is doing the right thing. Most of this occurs before the media firestorm, but we do see the anticipated fallout. Once Snowden goes into hiding, we witness Greenwald becoming the face and voice of the cause. He is a talented journalist and exceptional speaker, and doesn't back down from the reaction of those who stand accused.

The film allows us to take notice of the personal attacks on Snowden as an attempt discredit his documentation. Making Snowden the story distracted the media and the general public from the real issue. It's a fascinating film that will surely make you uncomfortable and cause re-evaluation of the chain of events. You may not change your mind, but you will most certainly have a better understanding of the human side.

We all know that, in today's world, telling the truth may set you free, but it can also make you an inmate or a corpse. Activist folk singer Joan Baez, however, reminds us that, "Courage has to do with being afraid and doing what you have to do anyway." It is a fitting description of whistleblower Edward Snowden, whose story is told by the Oscar-nominated American filmmaker Laura Poitras (My Country, My Country) in her intimate and intense documentary Citizenfour. Snowden, a 29-year-old former NSA contractor and intelligence analyst, aware of the serious personal and legal consequences, nevertheless exposed the fact that the government, in the name of fighting terrorism, was spying on all American citizens and those of other countries, in every area of their lives, whether they were suspected of wrongdoing or not.

According to Snowden, he was able to access anyone's records, bypassing codes, passwords and encryptions and said, "We are building the biggest weapon for oppression in the history of mankind." As the film begins, Poitras tells us in voice-over that, when she was working on a film about the dismantling of personal freedoms after the terrorist attack on 9/11, she began to receive encrypted e-mails with the codename of Citizenfour, revealing the desire to come forward with startling information about government surveillance.

One of the e-mails told her that "In the end, if you publish the source material, I will likely be immediately implicated. I ask only that you ensure that this information makes it home to the American public." The film almost exclusively relies on edited conversations, mainly between Snowden and author and journalist Glenn Greenwald interspersed with TV news reports, courtroom trials, and Senate hearings where officials are shown lying at hearings about the government's role in data collection. It does not pretend to be objective and there is no debate about any of the issues brought up in the film or the efficacy of Snowden's actions. It is his story, told from his point of view.

Interviewed by Poitras (who is unseen), Greenwald, at the time working for the Guardian, and reporter Ewen MacAskill in a room at the Mira Hotel in Hong Kong where Snowden remained in seclusion for eight days, the heretofore unknown whistleblower reveals his identity for the first time saying that he wants to come out publicly as the source of the information, to show the NSA "I'm not going to let you bully me into silence, like you have everyone else." Snowden says that he made the decision to come forward because he feels there's a great threat to the future of American free speech. "The elected and the electorate," he says, have become "the ruler and the ruled."

Though he says repeatedly that he is not the issue and his personality should not deflect attention from the material disclosed, the human angle nonetheless becomes an important part of the film and we have an opportunity to assess the personality and character of man who has already played an important role in history. Through all of the discussion of his methods and the nature of the material he revealed, Snowden presents his case in an eloquent manner, remaining calm and centered, saying that he anticipated the consequences and is prepared for them.

One of the few times he shows emotion is when talking about the government's interrogation of his girlfriend who, he says, knows nothing about his activities. The tension is palpable, however, and the film takes on aspects of a spy thriller when, after the information has gone public, everyone in the hotel room reacts with paranoia to the fire alarm testing going on in the hotel. Communication, however, eventually reverts to coded e-mails which Poitras shows on the screen when Snowden seeks asylum in Moscow. Though it reveals no new information that hasn't already been reported all over the world during the past eighteen months, Citizenfour is fascinating to observe as history unfolds before our eyes, offering the look and feel of immediacy, not that of a historical retrospective.

While it has taken several years, the warning message in Al Gore's 2006 film An Inconvenient Truth on the potentially disastrous results of climate change seems at long last to be getting through, though even now, it may be too little, too late. When it comes to our right to privacy in today's wired world, however, the prospects are not as bright. Though perhaps preaching to the choir, the film is an important reminder that in the words of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter," or those of abolitionist leader Frederick Douglass who said, "Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will." This film begins to crystallize that demand.

Citizenfour Scores a 10

If you never want to see a bad film in the theater again, I suggest you limit your viewing to documentaries. They are far better on average than fictional fare. Case in point: "Citizenfour."

"Citizenfour" tells the story of Edward Snowden's leak of NSA documents. Those documents reveal how our government, with the cooperation of major telecom and internet companies, has been surveilling our electronic communications. Moreover, our government has been spying on electronic communications around the world. You might ask, "Haven't they been doing this for years?" Yes, they have, but that was mainly (not exclusively, unfortunately) when there was probably cause, a warrant, or a history of criminal activity of the target. They have now been looking at everyone's communications without cause, and this can have a chilling effect on private communications and thought, journalism and our right to petition the government.

"Citizenfour" hits all the marks of a good documentary: it is topical, relevant, well organized and thought provoking. It is quietly dramatic and not overblown. In fact, the director could have manufactured more drama out of the subject through editing and dramatic music if desired. The restraint serves the film well.

Filmmaker Laura Poitras interviews Edward Snowden from the time he leaves his job at Booz Allen as an NSA analyst to leak the famous NSA documents that reports the spying programs up to the time his identity as the NSA whistle-blower is revealed. I thought I knew enough about this case, that there was no need to see this movie. I was wrong. Throughout the film, we see Snowden explain his decision making process, and what we see is revelatory. If people thought that Snowden was in it for fame or attention, watching this film will change that perception. Snowden was dismayed at the government surveillance of ordinary citizens and made a choice to leak that information. He did not name names and as far as he is concerned, did not reveal any information vital to U.S. security.

Heads of the NSA and other security agencies are shown in the film denying the existence of the surveillance program to Congress and on news programs. Other whistle-blowers or people investigating the program are interviewed or shown testifying such as former NSA intelligence agent William Binney. As the movie unfolds, so do the revelations of the extent of the spying program as it did in the London Guardian and other media outlets. First, U.S. domestic spying was revealed, then international spying, then spying on officials in other countries, even German Chancellor Merkel. Suffice to say, I knew some about the program but not the extent and the manner in which it unfolded.

What the film did was allow Snowden and Greenwald to take control of their own narrative, wrest it away from the mainstream media and government propaganda machine. Some of the shots in the movie start out of focus because Poitras started filming when something important was being said and to cut the takes for focus issues would have been unnecessary. Besides, the focusing was metaphorical of the main characters', Snowden and Greenwald, attempt to get a focus on the issues. We are brought along in this process. More effects and camera tricks could have been used to enhance the drama in the film, but the director wisely made a choice to focus on the content and characters. "Citizenfour", unlike all the overly dramatic movies from Hollywood, is a case of substance over style.

Rating: Pay Full Price, see it twice

There is little to complain about in the film other than I wanted more. The cinematography is not award winning, but it's exactly what the film needed. The timing in the film and editing were excellent. The director's choices were precisely what this story required.

Peace, Tex Shelters

As I write this, a few days after the film's release, so far only three users have posted reviews about it on IMDb. Given that the film ends with the revelation that 1,200,000 people are on the US government's watchlist of people under surveillance, if you're contemplating adding a positive review, the first question that you have to ask yourself is: will this make me number 1,200,001? I've followed the media stories detailing the contents of the documents Snowden leaked, so that part of the film wasn't new to me, and in fact I felt some of Snowden's more serious disclosures were underexplored in the film, maybe because of their somewhat technical nature. If you're looking for a documentary that lays out in detail all the ins and outs of what the NSA is up to, this isn't it. The main strength of the film lies in its portrait of Snowden as a person. The filmmaker and other journalists basically meet Snowden in person for the first time with cameras running, and it's fascinating to watch them getting to know one another in such a highly charged, high stakes situation. Snowden is very articulate and precise, and obviously motivated by a very moral sense of right and wrong, in much the same way as Daniel Ellsberg. Whether or not you agree with Snowden, the film definitely undercuts criticism of him as being unpatriotic or mercenary. The documentary works well as an introduction to the Snowden story for those only casually aware of it, and also as a tense real world political thriller, sort of like Three Days Of The Condor come to life, but without the gunmen and Faye Dunaway. All in all, a very important film that everyone should see.

Edward Snowden went from obscurity to fame overnight when he blew the whistle on the NSA's massive espionage program in June 2013. Litigator-turned-reporter Glenn Greenwald got recognized as the person helping Snowden expose the story, along with The Guardian's Ewen MacAskill and The Washington Post's Barton Gellman. But while the world saw the footage of Snowden speaking in the hotel room in Hong Kong, there was another person in the room with him, Greenwald and MacAskill: Laura Poitras, who filmed the interview. "Citizenfour" (the name that Snowden used when he contacted Poitras) tells the story of the interview and international reaction to Snowden's revelations.

It took guts to film and release this documentary. I think that in the end, the main outcome of Snowden's revelations is that the US's and UK's reputations are ruined. The documentary includes footage of hearings on the surveillance in Brazil (whose president was a victim of the surveillance) and Belgium (the seat of the European Union, whose heads of state were victims). I suspect that the peoples of Eastern Europe are the most befuddled by the revelations. For years under the Soviet occupation they looked to the US as a beacon of freedom, and now they see that the US is no different from the USSR. The British government, meanwhile, comes across as a US proxy in Europe.

"Citizenfour" is a documentary that not only deserves a lot of recognition, but should spark more discussion about the surveillance apparatus. As for Edward Snowden, he remains in political asylum in Russia, and his partner Lindsay Mills has joined him there. Oliver Stone is now making a movie about his revelations. In the meantime, I recommend the documentary.

This documentary has it all. The narrative is compelling, but honest to the reality it portrays. The work on the documentary began before the Snowden files started leaking, and it gives you an unprecedented look into how it all came about. It gives you an understanding of who Edward Snowden is and why he did what he did. He was not just some guy who stumbled over something he realized that someone else might find useful. He knew exactly what he had, and what to do about it.

And not only this: The documentary manages to convey the significance of the leak. What power the information held, and just how bad the NSA is.

The only negative thing I can say about it is that it opens a bit slow, and the technical aspects of it might scare of some viewers.

It's amazing that this is the world we live in. Snowden is a hero.

I'm sure Edward Snowden means well and I thank him for exposing the NSA and whatnot but I found this almost 2 hour long docu pretty low on the content and information scale. Snowden repeats like 10 times he does not want it to be about him but it actually kinda is. You get almost no info over what beans he is actually spilling. Most scenes are him sitting around in the hotel with the journalists saying mostly nothing useful. What this docu does is put a face on one of the mayor Leakers in the world and now Snowden is now as well known as Julian Assange (who has a cameo in the docu). If you want to know more about what whistles Snowden actually blew then go and do some reading on the internet. It will be a better investment of your time then watching this nonsense.

...and given the constraints they were operating under, maybe that much could not be revealed.

The first 20 minutes or so are of Ed, who isn't even known to the world yet, talking to a couple of journalists he has invited to his Hong Kong hotel room where he is hiding out from a system that doesn't even know he is missing yet. In a way, I'm surprised they came because about ten minutes into the conversation one says "What is your name again?", so maybe they had no idea what they were getting into, maybe at first they thought they were dealing with a crackpot, etc.

Some people have said it is boring, and I don't know why. Although you never get any real specifics about what Snowden did have on the NSA, you get an idea from him just sitting on his bed in his tee shirt talking to these journalists that he has seen stuff that has made him hyper vigilant. He puts a red hood over him when he types in a password to his laptop in case there is visual surveillance, he unplugs the phone because it contains ICs that can be used as a "hot mike", and he is highly suspicious when the fire alarms go off just as he is talking about what he knows. His fear is real.

I think this preliminary footage may have just been a way to show a human side of Ed. I mean, a lot of the documentary (on top of revealing more details of the secrets he leaked) is meant to show to the world that he's not crazy bob in his trailer in Nevada. He's a young, very smart, very articulate, very normal individual. Showing him simply struggling with his hair (something I'm sure most of us have dealt with at one point or another) demonstrates to us that he's not a mysterious conspiracy theorist to be dismissed; he's just like you and I. And the human quality makes us trust what he has to say a lot more. It's easy to ignore someone you think is crazy. It's not so easy to ignore someone in whom you see a little bit of yourself.

As for Glenn Greenwald of UK's The Guardian, he's shown as an articulate spokesman and advocate. He goes to Brazil and explains to them that all of this surveillance is just not about fighting terrorism. He brings his case home to them by saying if they were bidding on a contract in the US, then all of the details of their negotiations and plans to get that contract are now in the hands of the US government, and could be put in the hands of any American competitor.

The negatives? There is a part at the end that is not clearly explained. It is a conversation between Greenwald and Snowden about there being another contact in Germany that is ready to talk about what he knows about NSA surveillance. Some extremely unclear pictures are drawn and Snowden looks somewhat horrified saying stuff like "This is very risky. Does this guy know what he is doing, etc." He is really scared for the new contact, but it is never clear what is going on. The only other negative I have is, did the print explaining the transition between scenes HAVE to be so small? I had to pause the DVD and get up close to the screen to see what was being said.

I'd highly recommend this documentary just based on the fact that it pulls together some of the information that has now been scrubbed from public sources, shows Snowden as a human being, shows the bravery of both himself and Glenn Greenwald, and brings up that pesky question - is giving up such privacy - which as the documentary mentions is pretty much a synonym for liberty - worth it for increased security. Benjamin Franklin seemed to think that was not so. Watch it with an open mind.

While it's undeniably engaging to be a fly on the wall in Edward Snowden's hotel room during his historic whistle-blowing of the NSA, the film offers little more than a linear chronology of his actions, providing no fresh perspective. Its one provocative point - that the US government was spying on its own citizens without sufficient cause - is made over and over again without adding any dramatic weight or insight.

Anyone familiar with the story will likely find it interesting to watch Snowden take his journey into very dangerous terrain to follow his principles. But then again, anyone already familiar with the story isn't going to learn anything new from seeing the film.

Citizenfour begins in a tunnel with dim overhead tubing. The scene is disorienting for we don't know exactly where we are.

A.O. Scott of the Times suggests that Laura Poitras' tightly edited documentary might presage a "dystopian allegory." It might also represent a birth canal through a new born will emerge.

And then suddenly bright sunshine bursts into view. For, the exciting first scenes of Citizenfour promises the same exhilaration of freedom that Beethoven's opera Fidelio's "Prisoners Chorus" as prisoners emerge from the bowels of prison, into the light of day and gleefully sing "Oh what joy, in the open air freely to breathe again!" Monday, June 3, 2013 is the day the world of the National Security Council (and other intelligence agencies) secrecy metaphorically died as Edward Snowden let loose on the world the dirty little secrets that the US government, through the abuse of "spyware" was keeping tabs globally of the private thoughts of nearly everyone, regardless of caste or class. Dramatically, Poitras builds tension, as a voice off the screen, muted in tone and pitch—the better to create a sense of balance, in a documentary that has already been attacked for being partisan—through the use of the first e-mails Snowden began contact with her, as the text flashes in black and write across the screen in an old fashioned Hollywood spy caper.

More, she gives immediate substance to her viewers of what encryption is o outwit government hackers as in the following frames messages are quickly made readable in standard English. Not only that, this cinematic technique provides something graspable to the average Joe or Jane of, perhaps, cryptography and mega-data that are used daily in print or on television with endless repetition that might simply remains meaningless. So, Citizenfour also seeks to show the ordinary citizen the means of government intercepting Internet, tapping the telephone, sweeping billions of personal messages a day out of the public's view and behind closed doors.

Even through Snowden's exposure of abuses of "powers that be, with the connivance of corporations continue to disregard the constitutional and legal safeguards that protect US citizens from arbitrary rule.

Citizenfour is a film about the whistle blower Edward Snowden. Although we might think we know the man, Poitras' documentary introduces to Snowden in the flesh: a man who has risked his life and freedom to expose the American government's perversion of its democratic vocation and of conspicuous misuse of power. He comes across as a thoughtful young man, then 29, of substance, well centered and at peace with himself.

For eight days in Snowden's room in Hong Kong's Mira Hotel, Poitras filmed the conversations he had with Glenn Greenwald and the Guardian's defense and intelligence correspondent Ewan MacAskill patiently answering questions and with the patience of a teacher explaining the ins and outs of the deceitful spying that the NSA with the cooperation of friendly governments.

Her camera captured the former Booz Allen analyst on loan to the NSA who had no intentions of hiding his identity. Worried about Washington's vendetta to use the 1917Espionnage Act against whistleblowers exposing government malfeasance, Snowden left the US to sound the alarm of the oppressive control of the American spy agencies on the lives of ordinary citizens.

And if Snowden is crystal clear of anything, he is careful not to unnecessarily outing operatives, nor exposing them to bodily harm.

"Pin the target on my back," "nail me to the Cross," he says to Poitras, as he openly tells her that he is assuming full responsibility for leaking highly classified documents, not unlike the pope announcing urbi ed orbi his message od good will on New Year's.

Citizenfour, a last minute addition, kicked off the 2014 New York International Film Festival, as a character study of Edward Snowden, that Festival director called "icily chilling." For Stewart Klawans, Citizenfour is a "character necessary character study," to counter the campaign "to distract people from the substance of Snowden's revelations that predictably, entailed an effort to disparage him as a person."

And the film has become the object of attacking a person's character or motivations rather than a reasoned argument that Poitras' film presents. Simply look no further than Citizenfour's cast of characters—Snowden, Greenwald, Poitras, William Binney, Julian Assange, Jeremy Scahill and Macaskill and The Guardian—all whistle blowers who have not shied away from exposing government and private industry deceptions and corruption.

So far, it looks as though Citizenfour is a strong contender for an Oscar in the best documentary category. Still, the spotlight is not on Snowden but MacArthur genius winner, George Polk and Pulitzer Prize recipient Poitras.

Her talent is obvious, so the coverage has hardly a hint of faint praise. Nonetheless, critics on Slate and Daily Beast see the chinks in her cinematic armor, and even The New Yorker's George Packer remains skeptical of what they see as Poitras' "advocacy journalism," riddled with simplification and broad generalizations.

She has become the handy scapegoat since Snowden is out of government's harm's way, living in perfect domesticity in Moscow, with his longtime companion, whom he thought he lost forever.

Although she like Greenwald and nameless millions if not billions will forever be under permanent US surveillance, Citizenfour is a strong antidote to our government's campaign to besmirch Snowden, Poitras and company who performed the daring act, in the case of unfettered US spying to say "the emperor is wearing no clothes." The strength of Poitras documentary lies in honesty and her sense of moderation and fair play: moral goodness that the talking heads will continue to attack and demean. And try as they might, thanks to Snowden the cat is out of the bag on the NSA. And yet, alas, the spying goes on., without a vigorous citizen countervailing force to blunt our government's abuse of power and rendering democracy a hollow shell.

If you have read about whistle blower , Edward Snowdon in some of the undesirable right wing newspapers you might be forgiven for thinking this man is the devil incarnate and a danger to society. Rubbish. This man is a modern day hero Citizenfour tells the story , in real time , of Snowdown , and some very brave journalists , and how they exposed the way the US and UK governments are snooping on everything we do without us knowing. This documentary it'self is a little disjointed but you can forgive director , Laura Poitras that because it's the message that counts. This Oscar nominated documentary could quite easily fit in the horror genre because of what is going on at GSHQ and the NSA . Frightening stuff.

To think this documentary won an Oscar?!?!? You'll be better off watching PBS Documentary Series "Nova" on Cyberwar, which features Edward Snowden but also gives you MORE information about the reach of this surveillance program, interviews with other people related to the system, as well as analysis and conclusions on the subject, on the other hand "Citizenfour" is all about Edward Snowden in his Hong Kong hotel room, so we get a lot of long shots of him doing his hair, sleeping, and kinda just "hanging out", with very little information and analysis about the actual capabilities of the data gathering program... 0 Stars!!

"We are building the biggest weapon for oppression in the history of mankind." Ed Snowden

Welcome to a real-time documentary that doesn't have a political agenda yet covers the most controversial and important whistle blowing in this century. Edward Snowden disclosed extensive information mining of US citizens by NSA and other agencies. Laura Poitras's thrilling but sometimes slow documentary takes us to Hong Kong to witness Snowden's alarming the world about the US spying on its citizens and world leaders among others.

Citizenfour (the handle Snowden used when communicating) keeps the audience front row and center as Snowden makes contact with director Laura Poitras to arrange footage of his process, and most importantly with reporter Glenn Greenwald of The Guardian to write about this game-changing event. Neither is hesitant to take on the story, possibly because of its incendiary nature and the honesty of the whistleblower.

This story is like a great Jason Bourne spy story (without the glamour and tensions) pitting former intelligence operative Snowden against the great American political and media machines. In the outside world, German chancellor Angela Merkel expressed shock that the US was monitoring her cell phone conversations.

Poitras smartly includes President Obama condemning Snowden as unpatriotic and a danger to the American people, an argument going on even as you read this review. Curiously, the documentary makes no argument and goes easy on the suspense, making significant historical cinema but not gripping drama.

The so far unanswerable question is whether he's a hero or a traitor. The Snowden exposed to the ever present harsh light of camera and mics seems completely at peace with himself as he considers the rough life he has elected as a whistleblower. Indeed we are fortunate to see him at the most stressful point in his life being cool and level-headed. While Poitras makes sure we get to know him intimately, she never loses sight of the fact that this doc is about government spying.

Citizenfour is a fascinating, risky, and brave film for everyone who is interested in the challenges of truth telling.

The most important film you will see all year - possibly ever - is "Citizenfour". This is the single-most groundbreaking documentary I've ever laid eyes on, surpassing some of Michael Moore's greatest works. The amount of people that will be affected due to the information in this film is staggering. Every American owes it to themselves to see this. It will undoubtedly change the way you operate and think in more ways than one.

As you may already know, the film centers around Edward Snowden, the much-talked about 'whistleblower' that leaked an enormous amount of top secret information concerning the National Security Agency. It revealed the many ways that the NSA was spying on billions of people, creating a huge political conversation.

However, "Citizenfour" in no way participates in that conversation. It doesn't try to debate whether it was right or wrong for them to do that, it leaves all of that up to its subject. That's one of the countless reasons why it succeeds. It isn't a documentary that needs a ton of flare, it's actually quite the opposite. It states the facts, lets us decide how we feel about it, and all in the most simplistic and brilliant manner.

The majority of it takes place in one hotel room where Laura Poitras (the director of the film) and Glenn Greenwald (the first journalist to leak the story) listen to everything Snowden has to say. We watch them go over the program files and documents that serve as the evidence of what the NSA has done - scenes that include astounding stats and figures - those being some of the most powerful moments I've ever witnessed. It's a gut-punch of a movie, but one that's undeniably needed.

I really appreciate what Snowden did and this film only raises my level of gratitude because it shows the man as well as the information he disclosed. Given this and the risk a filmmaker takes when recording a sensitive subject like this, I do think that the makers of Citizenfour should be praised.

However, once you start watching it you realize that it is made from the same mold that other revelatory, controversial or conspiracist documentaries are made from. The Oscar is not for the quality of the film as it is for the subject. And, assuming that you are informed about the case - I still get the shivers when I see that most people I meet don't even know who Snowden is, you might find it difficult to understand why this movie is better than others, cinematically speaking.

Also, I feel that the film was way too focused on the journalistic process and too little on the actual meaning of the information or the aftermath of the disclosures. It is, actually, a human angle story more than a documentary about the biggest intelligence reveal of the last century. While not a bad thing, it is ironically what Snowden repeatedly said he does not want: to be the center of the story.

One gets to feel the alienation and pervasive angst that Snowden felt, even if this is sometimes done through cheap soundtrack tricks. One sees a smiling 29 year old become burdened more and more as time goes by. Less smiling, more dark patches under the eyes, more bewildered looks. And this while staying in hotels and having communication with people that relay his information and while being protected by a nation state. It is unimaginable what a normal person, without this safety net, would feel.

Bottom line: certainly worth watching, not so sure about the Oscar thing, but as long as that raises awareness of the subject matter, it is also worthy.

"We are building the biggest weapon for oppression in the history of mankind." Edward Snowden

In January of 2013 documentary film director and producer Laura Poitras received an encrypted e-mail from a stranger who called himself Citizen Four, who offered to provide insider information about illegal wiretapping practices of the US National Security Agency (NSA) and other intelligence agencies. A few months later, along with two journalists, she went to Hong Kong and met with now famous Eduard Snowden.

The documents that Snowden disclosed reveal organized control over the entire world telecommunications conducted by US "Intelligence Community" in conjunction with the US Government and with cooperation of the largest information and telecommunications corporations.

This documentary doesn't contain new details about NSA covert operations or information about their plans. Everything said here is already known to all who have followed this case in the media. Nevertheless, Citizenfour is extremely powerfully historical document that recorded argumentation and thought process of one of the most significant whistle-blowers of our time. This is the key importance of the Citizenfour. Here, we see Snowden as an intelligent young man, rational, precise in thought and expression, very articulate and most importantly, courageous, ethical and highly motivated. Its not coincidence that Eduard Snowden is often compared with the case of analyst Daniel Ellsberg who in 1971 handed a large internal secret Pentagon report on the war in Vietnam to the press.

A man who, guided by ethical principles, decides to risk everything he has and takes a step into the unknown deserves to be hailed as a hero. Without exaggeration, we can say that whistle-blowers who are giving to the public evidences of abuses and crimes of the state and corporations are the true heroes of our time.

Another impression is also very strong - that of loathing we feel in front of blatant media lies of state representatives and bureaucrats of intelligence organizations. Today, this 1000 times repeated lie didn't become the truth - it remained a lie, and those behind it are continuing to be liars. We fully understand that the world system in we live in has absolutely no legitimacy, and is primarily maintained by the bare force and fear of that force. Strongest feeling that remains after watching this film is the anxiety about the direction in which the world is going and the hope that the possibility to change that route still exists. It is not the question of the nature of the society we live in. We know it, we understand it. The real question is - what kind of society do we want to live in? And, what we are willing to do to make that society happen?

I'd also recommend that after seeing Citizenfour you watch the talk by Laura Poitras and Jacob Appelbaum "Reconstructing narratives - transparency in the service of justice" and Appelbaum's lecture on the militarization of the Internet "To Protect And Infect".

Director Laura Poitras has made an interesting and eye opening documentary called "Citizenfour" which showcases the story and the actual interviews in Hong Kong of whistle blower Edward Snowden. Everyone remembers in the news the story of the NSA scandal it became clear to everyone that the federal government was doing privacy invasion on nearly all citizens of the united states. I know you feel the same way it's clear that a lot of times you hear your phone and cell calls monitored and true at work, when you shop, or go to the bank or even drive thru a traffic red light your on camera! Simple no one has privacy in the world, true as mentioned in the film 911 changed a lot of things still the NSA in my opinion has took it to far with their worldwide programs with the spying on emails and the data collection that is sold to other agency types it's like the feds know where you go everything you do and who you see! It's sad that we as citizens have to give up our privacy because of terror of other nations. Still it's an ever lasting issue really see this documentary it's revealing, provocative, educational, and blunt as it proves we as citizens don't have any privacy when it comes to freedom as your calls, emails, viewing choices, travels, and data is all looked at and matched it's time we had more people like Edward Snowden as a whistle blower can be a hero.

This film is recommended.

Traitor or hero? Idealist or cynic? Whistleblower or pawn? No matter one's opinions, Edward Snowden remains a fascinating person and this documentary analyzes his actions and motives. The filmmakers met him at the outset of his controversial decision to leak pertinent and highly classified information to the world about the underhanded dealings of the National Security Agency under the guise of homeland protection.

Laura Poitras, who was directly contacted with some encrypted e-mails from Edward Snowden, under the alias of citizenfour, directs this documentary as it follows his rise and fall as those stolen NSA documents are leaked to the public. These copies expose the international spying of thousands of American citizens and other foreign nationals. Filmed in Hong Kong, prior to his exile to Russia, Citizenfour documents Snowden as he becomes a man without a country. Articulate and appearing sincere, one senses his moralistic stance and his principles, but also his naivety when dealing with ruthless and powerful forces.

Poitras' film is a series of perfectly timed moments of news-in-the-making as she captures historic footage of the beginnings of a political bombshell that will escalate into an international scandal of epic proportions. The filmmaker develops a rapport and admiration with Snowden, which tends to bias her documentary, as she takes aim at the governmental spin to discredit him.

Nevertheless, what gives Citizenfour its real impact is its behind-the-scenes look at the misconduct and cover-ups of a nation, involving espionage wrongdoing by the American government and the unethical invasion of privacy of its people, via their phone and internet connections.

The film is extremely well made but lacking in innovative editing or artful photography. It's purely interview after interview, one talking head-shot after the next. The lengthy interviews between Snowden and Glenn Greenwald, the investigative reporter who broke the story, make up most of the film. But these sections are in need of some judicious editing as they go on far too long, even if they are historically significance moments in time.

Citizenfour is an important film about important issues. Its subject matter deals with larger issues of sacrifice, patriotism, and paranoia. A flip of the coin and one can see the film as sheer propaganda, intense political thriller, or a passionate film about our basic civil rights. It raises questions about our essential loss of freedom and our need for bigger and better surveillance tactics to fight terrorism and preserve homeland security at any costs.

Citizenfour remains a thought-provoking treatise on our politics post 9/11 and the fallout of one man's actions to make a change. GRADE: B

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CITIZENFOUR is the documentary that was being shot when US whistleblower Edward Snowden decided to go public with his story of America's NSA spying on its own citizens as well as the rest of the world. It's a vivid, paranoid tale told in a thoroughly compelling way, no matter what you think of the protagonist and his motives.

The documentary kicks off by explaining the background to the situation to its viewers before holing up with Snowden in a Hong Kong hotel, where things begin to play out in real time. And from this point in it becomes unmissable, a story of paranoia and spying in a digital age. It's frightening how much this has in common with the likes of the supposedly fictional Bourne movies.

There's an element of tragedy here, a la THE INTERNET'S OWN BOY, which told how Aaron Swartz was persecuted in a similar (but even less deserving) way, but in the end I found this to be a story of hope: how a team of dedicated journalists can outwit even one of the most powerful agencies in the world.

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!

A compelling documentary, worth watching. Snowden is certainly a hero in one sense, as he bravely revealed just how far the NSA had gone in surveilling its citizens and those of the world. To have had this go on unchecked and in non-transparent ways long after 9/11 was certainly one of the disappointments of the Obama administration, and I say that despite my great admiration for the man. Aside from the fundamental affront to privacy and liberty, just imagine this power in the hands of a leader with authoritarian tendencies, and that's just one of the dangers. The documentary does a good job of conveying the many ways digital and analog interactions can be monitored, and putting us in Snowden's shoes as his story was being told to the world by Glenn Greenwald of The Guardian.

Despite the respect I have for Snowden, perhaps the greatest whistleblower of all time, the level of the classified information he took, the bulk of it unrelated to mass surveillance, and its possible damage to his country is troubling, and I think this is where the documentary fell short a bit. It never asks the hard question of Snowden or presents the other side of a very complicated situation. Too often it gets bogged down in the mechanics of Snowden's interactions with journalists or his routine in hotel rooms - an incredible level of access to be sure, but more content on the debate, less on him grooming or staring pensively out the window, would have been appreciated.