Documentary Corner | Citizenfour

Sometimes a perfect opportunity can just present itself to a director. Citizenfour is a film whose mere existence is incredible. Based on the drama of Edward Snowden’s whistleblowing on the mass surveillance being performed by the NSA in America, Citizenfour is the final film in director Laura Poitras’ America After 9/11 trilogy. What makes it so unique is the privileged access that Poitras had to Snowden (codename: Citizenfour) as he decided to pull the trigger on his leak. Poitras and journalist Glenn Greenwald are the two people Snowden personally reached out to via encrypted emails to help him get his message out, awarding us a much more personal look at Snowden as a person. Speaking as someone relatively ignorant to the entire situation, I found his portrayal deeply humanising: Snowden comes off as a deeply humble, intelligent, and responsible man. We leave the film with an understanding of his character and his values which would be unachievable through any interview or other piece of media.

It is in this personable aspect that the film finds its biggest strengths. Poitras was not afraid to take the time out at various points to focus on little things such as Snowden hurriedly flicking through his laptop or nervously doing his hair. Time is also set apart to allow Snowden to set out his views and philosophies in a series of spontaneous interviews in his hotel room, allowing him to outline why this documentary is so important. The film is also not afraid to raise a number of its own questions, mostly through select clips from debates and lectures, from the balance of privacy vs. security to the meaning of sovereignty.

From a technical standpoint Citizenfour is near perfect. It hits all the marks that a good documentary should: it’s thought provoking, relevant, and attention holding, with a perfect balance between tension-building slower moments and a steady driving pace. Only in Citizenfour could a hotel’s routine fire alarm test get my heart nearly pounding out of my chest. The massive depth of research is wonderfully presented in a way which gets across a lot of information without being overwhelming. Citizenfour definitely displays a great deal of intelligence, as well as the journalistic passion which shines through with Poitras and Greenwald.