Citizenfour

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.

The only reason why this documentary won an Oscar was because the 'Academy' is always so politically correct left. Really, this documentary is not much more than an immovable interview with Edward Snowdon in a hotel room. I was bored to death within 10 minutes. I would have loved to see all the places where Snowdon did his secret stealing of information. No looking at the interiors of buildings that speak to the imagination like the Pentagon or the Edgar J. Hoover Building or whatever. None of that. The Oscar is mainly an unfair sneer at the Obama administration. But let me ask you, would any administration have done digital security in a different way? No, and certainly not a republican administration. After 9/11 global surveillance is a fact, and everybody knew that. The people who are against surveillance are also the first to cry blue murder in case of a terrorist attack.

The only feasible explanation for the near universal plaudits being garnered on Citizenfour is that people are recording their approbation of Edward Snowden's actions, not the film itself. Laura Poitras's doco is an execrable piece of film-making with no saving grace. The greatest proportion of the film takes place in a Hong Kong hotel room as 'Call me Ed' relates fragments of his reasoning and rationale to two journalists from The Guardian - when he's not seen gelling his hair or musing what length his stubble should be. He is far from articulate and there were no insights or revelations to capture any interest. We don't see his asylum flight to Russia as the director had hot-footed it back to Berlin after believing that she was being followed. Snowden came across as something of a narcissistic dreamer with a Year 10 mentality. Like the British Cambridge spies before him, he's probably now doomed to see out his days in alcoholic Moscow isolation when those who currently laud him lose interest when the next specious hash tag campaign comes along.

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!!