Citizenfour (Laura Poitras, 2014)

[criterion10]

There is little praise to be said about Citizenfour that hasn't been said already. The film takes us through various events in recent years, ranging from early evidence of illegal government surveillance, to the Hong Kong interview with Edward Snowden himself, to the reaction surrounding the NSA leaks.

The Hong Kong segments with Snowden occur for a large portion of the film, and there simply is nothing greater than seeing raw footage of the man. Not only is it tense and invigorating, but it also manages to develop the man's character as a human being. Even audience members more skeptical of the Snowden's actions are likely to sympathize with him to some extent.

Director Laura Poitras does an excellent job of compressing the most important information into the film's nearly two-hour running time, even presenting it in a manner that is never too complex for mainstream audiences. Her directorial style is rather unique. She opens her documentary with the dark image of a car passing through a tunnel, set against the backdrop of an ambient soundtrack by Nine Inch Nails and her own narration. The scene immediately sets the vibe for the film, a documentary with incredibly cinematic sensibilities. This is also evident in editing of certain shots, presented in a way that could only be found in a traditional narrative film, as opposed to a documentary one. Though Poitras also chooses to allow a certain raw aesthetic in many of the interview scenes, with some shots not framed perfectly and others seen being adjusted on a tripod during ongoing interviews. This aesthetic, mixing true documentary footage with cinematic elements, works to great effect.

As a whole, Citizenfour is a scathing indictment of the ongoing government injustices, a humanistic portrait of Snowden, and a thriller with Orwellian elements that one really has to see to believe. Make no mistake: this is not only one of the best documentaries of the year, but also one of the best films of the year. A stunning achievement, and a film to be remembered for years to come.

I'll now need to check out the other two films of Poitras' post-9/11 trilogy.

[Galen Young]

Took me by surprise by how much I really liked this, went in thinking it might be dry and preaching to the choir (me) but it's anything but. Terrific photography and the picture/sound editing is just right. The tension from getting out of the hotel was crazy, making for this wild frisson of witnessing history being made. Hard to believe some reviewers actually think the cliffhanger at the end might be fake! So happy to see Steven Soderbergh's name on this, half to wonder if it's in name only or if he made any suggestions in post.

[willoneill]

I'm going to be the voice of dissent here, and say I was really dissatisfied. I found the whole movie was more about hagiography of Snowden (and Glen Greenwald) that it was about the actual issues and discussion around the leaks, and what the U.S. Government has been doing related to surveillance. That's not necessarily a problem, but here you have a movie where Snowden repeatedly makes statements that he himself wants the issues to be the point of the story, not him as a person, yet this film spends lots of time just watching him watching television news footage, reacting. There were tidbits about surveillance issues here and there (you can remotely hot-mike an IP phone, even it's hung up ... good to know), but if Snowden really doesn't think the story should be about him, then the filmmakers hsould respect that and not make the film all about him. And of course, if Snowden is egotistical and wants to be the star, then he shouldn't posture as if this isn't the case, since that kind of bullshit only serves to take away from the key, important issues here.

I include Greenwald in that criticism too, because I felt like he was trying to be more than a journalist, but part of the story himself, about what a smart, brave guy he is. In a weird way, the scene where he's speaking at a panel in Brazil only reinforced this to me, because it felt like it was just a clever way of showing Greenwald can speak Portuguese fluently.

[warren oates]

Take a listen to the excellent Film Society of Lincoln Center Q&A podcast. Her intention wasn't to make a think piece or a dry journalistic account, but instead the sort of character driven verite film she's always been drawn to. If you want a more in-depth journalistic approach to these issues not as centered on character and narrative, you can go many other places in print and on-line, notably the indispensable two-part Frontline series and James Bamford's Wired magazine interview.

If Snowden really doesn't think the story should be about him, then the filmmakers should respect that and not make the film all about him. And of course, if Snowden is egotistical and wants to be the star, then he shouldn't posture as if this isn't the case, since that kind of bullshit only serves to take away from the key, important issues here.

But you're ignoring the context. When he first says all that, ironically, he has no idea that the story is about to become very much about him, that he'll be the biggest part of it, that he won't be able to control that narrative the way he might have naively imagined. You're also not really acknowledging how Poitras, Greenwald and their colleagues have already spent a year honoring that wish, pushing out substantive stories all over the globe. And how that was never the point of this film, which is really about the personal side of all this -- giving context to Snowden's decision to come forward and then showing the world what it felt like to be there when he did.

I include Greenwald in that criticism too, because I felt like he was trying to be more than a journalist, but part of the story himself, about what a smart, brave guy he is. In a weird way, the scene where he's speaking at a panel in Brazil only reinforced this to me, because it felt like it was just a clever way of showing Greenwald can speak Portuguese fluently.

What...? No clue what you mean by this. Once again, he's unavoidably part of the story, because of how it unfolded, because he's always put himself out there rather boldly (he was a part of what eventually became this film even before Snowden himself was!) and because of the way various media and government spokespeople have called for him to be held criminally culpable for doing his job as a journalist. I don't know how you can get around all that.

[Numero Trois]

Available for free authorized streaming right here, at least for the time being.

[Finch]

Anyone know if or rather hopefully when HBO plans to release the film on Blu-Ray, or how long it usually takes them? Another six months from now?

[Numero Trois]

Available for free authorized streaming right here, at least for the time being.

......And now its gone. Uploaded illegally. That's the last time I trust a Huffington Post blogger.