The very tools used to connect us (the internet, smartphones) are shown to be the primary tools used for our subjugation. Critical Reception
Scored an 88/100, indicating "universal acclaim."
Holds a 96% "Certified Fresh" rating, with critics calling it a "gripping, essential record."
Citizenfour (2014) isn't just a documentary; it’s a high-stakes thriller that happens to be entirely true. Directed by Laura Poitras, this Academy Award-winning film provides an unprecedented, fly-on-the-wall look at the moment the world changed: when Edward Snowden blew the whistle on the NSA’s mass surveillance programs.
Much of the film takes place within the confines of a hotel room. This creates a claustrophobic, paranoid atmosphere that mirrors Snowden’s own reality.
The film serves as a chilling indictment of the post-9/11 "surveillance state." It forces the audience to confront the reality that "metadata" is not just numbers, but a detailed map of a person's life.
The film’s title comes from the alias Snowden used when he first contacted Poitras via encrypted email. The narrative centers on a tense eight-day period in a Hong Kong hotel room in June 2013. Poitras, along with journalists Glenn Greenwald and Ewen MacAskill from The Guardian, documents the first meetings with Snowden as he prepares to leak classified documents that prove the U.S. government is monitoring the private communications of ordinary citizens worldwide.