Filmmaker Laura Poitras’ intimate documentary “CITIZENFOUR” captures Edward Snowden’s journey in a thrilling, intimate and claustrophobic style.
The world was rocked in 2013 when former NSA intelligence officer Edward Snowden revealed classified National Security Administration documents to Guardian journalist Glenn Greenwald. The revelation that mobile service companies like AT&T and Verizon betrayed their customer’s trust by allowing the government to listen in on their phone conversations angered many Americans. And rather than confess to this violation of privacy, the government decided to prosecute Snowden anyways.
Poitras begins her documentary with the mini-doc “The Program,” about William Binney, a veteran intelligence officer in the NSA. Binney is shown talking to a crowd about how he originally developed the Stellar Wind information collection under the President’s Surveillance Program for security purposes. However, after 9/11, the NSA decided to spy on U.S. citizens, and Binney, believing this to be illegal and unconstitutional, resigned in 2001. Poitras then contrasts this footage with former NSA head Keith Alexander denying that the NSA was monitoring phone calls, collecting email addresses or Internet service provider customer numbers.
Poitras then shifts her work to a mysterious email message she received in 2012 by a user known as CITIZENFOUR. Throughout the film, Poitras displays these archival email exchanges as white letters against a black background, with the camera serving as an extra eye.
Poitras then documents her meetings with Glenn Greenwald, the journalist who joins her in a journey to Hong Kong to find a man who will be playing with a Rubix Cube for identification.
Though we already know that the leaker of these documents is Snowden, it is still shocking to see him speak on camera, identifying himself as a former contractor for Booz Allen Hamilton with the NSA in Hawaii.
Poitras films Snowden in intimate close-ups within his hotel room, and against the white pillows and bed, he seems to blend into the background wearing a white shirt, much like a whistleblower would. Although the government declares him a traitor, Snowden comes across as being very humble and modest, admitting, “This isn’t about me. I’m not the story here. It’s about the chilling effects of Internet freedoms.”
Indeed, one feels sympathy for Snowden, such as when he is startled by the alarm testing in his hotel, prepared for the authorities that may be coming for him. Snowden comes across as a martyr for Internet freedom, beautifully demonstrated when supporters in Brazil wave paper cutouts of his face.
Once Snowden’s identity is exposed, the moment is oddly anti-climactic. This comes through in a humorous moment when he turns down the the Wall Street Journal with “No one is here.” His escape, which would normally serve as an exciting climax, merely comes across almost as an afterthought. Though safe in Russia, Poitras’ final shot of Snowden through the windows of his place of exile in Russia suggests surveillance, a theme that no one is truly safe.
With its intimate close-ups, long takes of dialogue, and thriller-like pacing, “CITIZENFOUR” is an important documentary about how one man shook the world.
“CITIZENFOUR” (R, 114 min) opens at Landmark E Street Cinema on Oct. 24.
