Movie: Citizenfour (2014)
Dir. Laura Poitras
Cast: Edward Snowden,
Glenn Greenwald, and
Ewen MacAskill
Citizenfour is the Academy Award Winning Documentary about Whistleblower Edward Snowden and why he decided to leak declassified documents about the government spying on US citizens. The actions of Edward Joesph Snowden would divide the world. Some calling him a hero... Some calling him a criminal. He retread to an undisclosed hotel in Hong Kong to share his story to Documentary Filmmaker Laura Poitras and Journalists' Glenn Greenwald and Ewen MacAskill.
With all that said, what do I think about it? What would I rate it? What was my reaction after watching it? What's the message? And why does it matter in todays climate? Questions will be answered in this review.
I'll get straight to the point... It's a 9/10. It's the best documentary I've ever seen. Everything from the look of the film, the B-Roll, the interviews not focusing on Edward were decent, and much more. Not only is it good on first viewing, it's entertaining enough to watch again and realize it's a thriller more than a serious of interviews and B-Roll footage.
I believe the message after watching was that some secrets are meant to be revealed and it matters now, more than ever with most people believing that our president is keeping secrets from us that he doesn't want us to know... Which this movie is trying to say is "No. Reveal them to the people so we can feel safe at night and question our government and the freedom it stands for." This something everyone should see... We're told that we're safe and our privacy is secure... But it might not be.
I wouldn't change anything to make this better. I'd add more government reactions to what he did and see Edwards reaction to it and make it a bit more powerful... Not that this isn't already powerful enough. Snowden isn't a criminal... He's a patriot. The best part of the documentary is Edward's "Blanket of Power" (you'll know what I'm talking about if you watch it).
Laura Poitras, Mathilde Bonnefoy, & Dirk Wilutzky Winning the 2015 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature
TRAILER AND OTHER VIDEOS ARE DOWN BELOW