The definitive 21st century documentary: a global tech conspiracy, leaked in real-time by its source, with an aftershock that absorbs the filmmaker into part of the story. Bunkered down in a Hong Kong hotel, Poitras records a stoic, paranoid Edward Snowden as he blows the whistle on the NSA’s planet-wide surveillance - then vaporises when the manhunt begins. The key dramatic question, Snowden’s motivation, is a footnote for Poitras, who cuts through the baffling, abstract magnitude of the NSA’s spying to deliver a stark, clear-eyed warning of the West’s vanishing freedoms. Tonally, it’s an eerie film of cold anxiety rather than tension; you’re pinned to your seat through sheer, shattering disbelief.
Citizenfour Review
When director Laura Poitras is emailed out of the blue by Citizen Four, aka defence analyst Edward Snowden, shes invited to chronicle the leak, and aftermath, of a scandal: the NSAs relentless, worldwide surveillance program...
Release Date:
29 Oct 2014
Running Time:
114 minutes
Certificate:
15
Original Title:
Citizenfour
Bold, unblinking filmmaking no less than a living document of a global scandal straight from the whistleblower. Alarming and essential anyone with a phone should see it.
Just so you know, whilst we may receive a commission or other compensation from the links on this website, we never allow this to influence product selections - read why you should trust us