5 out of 5

Directed by: Laura Poitras

‘Citizenfour’ is one of the most haunting movies I have ever seen.  I’m not an activist of any particular belief, nor am I strongly anti-structural anything: in general I believe that things in my country – the US – are organized with good intentions.  And then I expect those intentions to be yanked about and realigned for power and/or money.  So when the NSA leaks hit, the extent of it was surprising but not surprising at the same time.  My acceptance of this is briefly touched on in a speech by Josh Applebaum late in the film – that the fact that I can be aware of these things and feel that way is, in itself, part of a larger issue.  It is Poitras’ skill in capturing and arranging this information – elements leading up to her meetings with reporter Glenn Greenwald and NSA ‘whistleblower’ Eric Snowden, coverage of the information discussed, coverage of the response to the released information – that the topic finally does connect, and not on a Big Scary Government level, per se, but on a very human one.  I’m generally not a big fan of documentaries because, in part, I get enough of reality every day, but also because I feel like the agenda is always too evident.  An agenda is unavoidably a part of any piece of media, even if it’s just to report on something, but the encapsulated nature of a documentary – the attempt to reign in a large topic (as opposed to a focused fictional movie plot) within a couple of hours makes the bias of what’s being presented too apparent, especially in the hands of lesser-skilled filmmakers.  But Poitras remains behind her camera for almost the entire film, only slipping into frame for seconds in a reflection or as a voice.  And although you can still question what’s happening between scenes to shape or lead what we’re seeing, her understanding of when to let the camera rest on Snowden, individualizing him way beyond a talking head in a series of talking heads that popped up on news stations post the leaks, gives the film its grounding in reality.  The government, the spying statistics – these are nebulous concepts.  But Snowden is a human being.  And hearing him carefully, thoughtfully represent himself, seeing the moments where the weight of things is trickling in, makes ‘Citizenfour’ insanely immediate and impactful.  Poitras pacedly shuffles us through two hours of what’s essentially an information dump – information we’ve probably already read or heard in other contexts – without slipping into overt fear-mongering or lecturing.  It is what, to me, a documentary should do: let the topic speak for itself.  Having done that, I finally get a real feeling of the immensity of an issue that’d been staring me in the face for the last couple of years.