CITIZENFOUR is the documentary that was being shot when US whistleblower Edward Snowden decided to go public with his story of America's NSA spying on its own citizens as well as the rest of the world. It's a vivid, paranoid tale told in a thoroughly compelling way, no matter what you think of the protagonist and his motives.
The documentary kicks off by explaining the background to the situation to its viewers before holing up with Snowden in a Hong Kong hotel, where things begin to play out in real time. And from this point in it becomes unmissable, a story of paranoia and spying in a digital age. It's frightening how much this has in common with the likes of the supposedly fictional Bourne movies.
There's an element of tragedy here, a la THE INTERNET'S OWN BOY, which told how Aaron Swartz was persecuted in a similar (but even less deserving) way, but in the end I found this to be a story of hope: how a team of dedicated journalists can outwit even one of the most powerful agencies in the world.
The documentary kicks off by explaining the background to the situation to its viewers before holing up with Snowden in a Hong Kong hotel, where things begin to play out in real time. And from this point in it becomes unmissable, a story of paranoia and spying in a digital age. It's frightening how much this has in common with the likes of the supposedly fictional Bourne movies.
There's an element of tragedy here, a la THE INTERNET'S OWN BOY, which told how Aaron Swartz was persecuted in a similar (but even less deserving) way, but in the end I found this to be a story of hope: how a team of dedicated journalists can outwit even one of the most powerful agencies in the world.