Citizenfour

Director: Laura Poitras/With Edward Snowden and Glenn Greenwald

Citizenfour may be one of the most important documentaries to be released in recent years and definitely one of the most fascinating.
Director Laura Poitras was granted access to former National Security Agency-contracted employee Edward Snowden in the days leading up to his release of secret NSA files to the press and public. His actions were a provocative, dangerous and calculated attempt to bring the agency's flagrant and immoral practice of gathering information on governments, world leaders and more shockingly--American citizens--to light. Of course the NSA defends their actions as being for the good of national security--a highly preposterous claim at best. Poitras, along with Guardian journalist Glenn Greenwald, met with Snowden in a Hong Kong hotel to interview him and receive sensitive data files, which were to be revealed by the Guardian journalist and to the press and the public days after the initial meeting.

It is astonishing to consider the singular privilege granted both Poitras and Greenwald in breaking a story that made a tremendous worldwide impact.

As Poitras captures the very intelligent and highly articulate Snowden on camera, he relates his story to Greenwald. The situation seems almost unreal and surreal. How often can one watch a historical event unfold before one's eyes; something the participants and the audience know will create a political shock wave and bring the wrath of the U.S. government down upon Snowden.

In spite of being a little nervous (naturally), Snowden divulges information in a composed, rational manner. What he made known is now public record (thanks to his efforts).

Though the word heroic has been mostly bled of its power, it is a term that applies to Poitras and Greenwald though mostly to Snowden, who essentially ruined his life to bring to light what he believes is a crime. As one would expect, Snowden is immediately vilified by the U.S. government and in the aftermath of the disclosure, Poitras and Greenwald endure harassment and government surveillance.

We can feel Snowden's acute anxiety as he watches the initial impact of Greenwald's story on T.V. in his Hong Kong hotel room.

Though what we learn has already been covered extensively by every major news outlet in the world, its power remains undiminished. I couldn't help but feel a very visceral fear, knowing government agencies, more specifically the NSA, have flouted the American public's disdain for having phone conversations recorded and internet activity monitored.

How would Orwell have reacted to the NSA's operations? I think we know the answer to that rhetorical question.

It is infuriating to listen to top National Security personnel lie before congressional committees about eavesdropping on the American public. It is equally infuriating to learn corporate telecommunication giants like Verizon colluded with the NSA to facilitate their agenda. Poitras' film leaves us feeling two very strong emotions: anger and fear. That a country so proud of its alleged liberties and democratic ideals would sanction KGB-like tactics to collect data on citizens and foreign countries alike betrays a hypocrisy that is both revolting and immoral.

It is stated in the film that comparatively speaking, U.S. citizens enjoy more freedom from NSA spying than that of the rest of the world. Why our allies aren't more outraged by this fact leaves me baffled.

I try to resist hyperbolic praise when writing about film but it seems to me Poitras' documentary could and should earn some sort of Nobel Prize for capturing footage of one of the most important stories of the 21st century.

Poitras' medium shot of Snowden and his girlfriend through their kitchen window in Moscow as they prepare dinner makes a powerful statement about how easy it is for someone to be watched and how vulnerable we really are to governmental powers and forces we can scarcely defy. In one scene in the film, Greenwald and his partner endure security entanglements at airports, which is one of many ways the U.S. government intimidates citizens they believe to be seditious.

We know from the film-and the news media, that Snowden has been granted temporary asylum in Russia. He will most likely join Julian Assange in becoming an embassy refugee unless he risks returning to the U.S. to face severe federal prosecution.

Poitras' film is a phenomenal document; one that leaves one feeling cynical and afraid of the NSA's reach. When the cinematic dust of 2014 clears in January, Poitras' film will stand tall among the year's best. Citizenfour is history.