Citizenfour
Dir: Laura Poitras
2014
*****
An amazing insight to a hugely important bit of modern history, a blow by blow account of Edward Snowden blowing the whistle on the NSA spying scandal. Director Laura Poitras is banned from the USA and is under constant surveillance for her previous outspoken documentaries of government corruption post 9/11 so she really had nothing left to loose but all credit to her pioneering efforts in highlighting world atrocities. Snowden however, has everything to loose and was wise to approach her to document everything he did as he spilled the beans to The Guardian newspaper. Nothing is scripted, there are no moments of sensationalism or false drama, everything is as it is, a huge historical event with massive repercussions, taped in a Hong Kong hotel room. Not only does it spit in the eye of the usual media speculation but it also undermines the NSA and American government with little come back ground. It's a triumph of civil rights and liberties and proof of high level corruption that everyone assumed but could never prove. It is an awesome thing to behold, it surprises me but in a very positive way, that it won so many awards in the US. Much deserved they are too. The modern equivalent of Battleship Potemkin?