Watch Citizenfour

Citizenfour is a captivating documentary that chronicles the secret meetings between journalist Glenn Greenwald and Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor turned whistleblower, who infamously revealed the USA's extensive global surveillance program in 2013. The documentary, shot over several days in a Hong Kong hotel room, offers the uncensored and chilling account of how Snowden leaked the sensitive information and the repercussions that followed.

The film is directed by Academy Award-winning director Laura Poitras, who along with Greenwald acted as Snowden's point of contact with the media. The exclusive access to the people behind the biggest intelligence leak in history offers a rare glimpse into the inner workings of the NSA surveillance apparatus and the human cost of standing up to government surveillance in the name of privacy.

The documentary commences with a black screen, and we hear Laura's voice recounting how she came to be contacted by an anonymous figure who claimed to have evidence of the US government's surveillance practices that violate the law and the Constitution. A few sequences later, we come to know the identity of the person as Edward Snowden, who had fled to Hong Kong to avoid US extradition charges. Greenwald, Laura's collaborator, travels to Hong Kong to meet Snowden, and we witness the frenetic exchanges between the two.

The documentary captures the claustrophobic, insular atmosphere of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel room in Hong Kong, where the initial meetings between Greenwald and Snowden occurred. The film takes us inside the room where Snowden divulged the secrets of the NSA's surveillance and spying programs, including the collection of email and phone metadata, and hacking into computer systems. Snowden explains how he collected the data and the ethical concerns he encountered throughout the process. We see snippets of various files, sometimes with redacted sections, displayed on the laptop screens of Snowden and Greenwald.

Throughout the film, Poitras does an amazing job of capturing the intensity and emotional depths of the experience of journalists and their sources who are taking enormous risks with their lives and freedom as they confront powerful government agencies. They discuss the best way to release the story of the leak, how to ensure maximum exposure, and what revelations will have the most significant impact. Snowden's decision to make public the documents that he had stolen had far-reaching consequences - including him being charged under the Espionage Act and forced to seek political asylum in Russia.

The documentary also features William Binney, a former technical director of the NSA, who, like Snowden, had concerns about the agency's surveillance program. Binney's presence serves to strengthen the documentary's argument that the NSA's surveillance apparatus has gone rogue, and that ordinary citizens are being subjected to unwarranted and unjustified violations of their privacy. Binney speaks candidly about his recovery from a stroke that he believes was induced by the stress of being targetted by the FBI and the NSA.

The film's strength is that it humanizes the story of the surveillance state while making it clear that no one is safe from government surveillance. The visual language of the film is a seamless mix of close-ups, wide-shots, and aerial shots, highlighting its excellent cinematography. The shots from inside the hotel room are particularly effective in conveying the high stakes of the meeting, while the frequent shots of Snowden's reflection in the hotel mirror remind us of Snowden's paranoia and fear of being compromised.

In conclusion, Citizenfour is an incredibly powerful and anxious look into one of the biggest security breaches of our time. It stimulates a poignant conversation about the ever-increasing creeping infringement of privacy by the state apparatus worldwide. The documentary shows that the absolute ideal of privacy is a complex and sometimes-conflicting concept, yet it remains fundamental to our humanity. Citizenfour is a must-watch film for anyone interested in topics of surveillance and privacy, political conspiracies, and government transparency.