Citizen Four,
the documentary about the Edward Snowden revelations, attracted a very diverse
group of cine-buffs to an early evening session at one of the smallest of the
Lighthouse Cuba cinemas. There were young and old, suited and students,
groups and singletons – the latter myself.
The documentary
itself is not the most engaging one I have ever seen, but the subject matter
itself made up for a lot of the film’s faults. It follows the story of how Edward Snowden approached Glenn Greenwald, seeking assistance to reveal the extent of US and other governments ability to tap into the electronic communications of their citizens and the fact that they are indeed doing so.
As crops up a couple of times in the TV footage when the story breaks, so what? Surely we knew all this already? Surely the government would never do anything that wasn't in the best interests of the people?
Well, that depends on how trusting you are. And what the information ends up being used for. And rights to privacy and things like that. And the fact there has been a huge... one can't say conspiracy but established deception to hide what is going on, the extent of what is going on, and how the information can be used.
Snowden flees Hong Kong for asylum in the Russian Federation; Greenwald and Snowden's family is subjected to intimidation and harrassment; the media doesn't quite know what to do and (besides the usual suspects) which side to take. Obama and Republicans end up on the same side. The world basically goes a bit wobbly for a while.
Snowden comes across as a really nice guy. He seems fiercely intelligent, a strong sense of honour and morality that transcends national security to how he views the founding principles of the United States.
And the documentary does a good job of showing him in a good light, and showing the reaction to both his revelations and Greenwald's style of publicising them to the world.
The fact that several years later it all seems like nothing has changed even though it is "out there" was the strange feeling that haunted me when I left the movie theatre. Sure, the US oversight committees have got more pressure on them now, but after a bit of a broohaha at most of the English speaking world's security agencies, it all pretty much seems to be a bit forgotten now.
Though not for Snowden of course. He is still on the bad guy list. Perhaps forever?
Verdict: CitizenFour is a good documentary that sometimes focuses a bit too much on the people telling the story than the story itself. It will be interesting to see the follow up to this documentary, charting what happens in the aftermath of the revelations. Perhaps less sensational, less exciting, but in the long run, probably more to the point of what Snowden hoped to achieve. 7 wikileaks out of 10.
As crops up a couple of times in the TV footage when the story breaks, so what? Surely we knew all this already? Surely the government would never do anything that wasn't in the best interests of the people?
Well, that depends on how trusting you are. And what the information ends up being used for. And rights to privacy and things like that. And the fact there has been a huge... one can't say conspiracy but established deception to hide what is going on, the extent of what is going on, and how the information can be used.
Snowden flees Hong Kong for asylum in the Russian Federation; Greenwald and Snowden's family is subjected to intimidation and harrassment; the media doesn't quite know what to do and (besides the usual suspects) which side to take. Obama and Republicans end up on the same side. The world basically goes a bit wobbly for a while.
Snowden comes across as a really nice guy. He seems fiercely intelligent, a strong sense of honour and morality that transcends national security to how he views the founding principles of the United States.
And the documentary does a good job of showing him in a good light, and showing the reaction to both his revelations and Greenwald's style of publicising them to the world.
The fact that several years later it all seems like nothing has changed even though it is "out there" was the strange feeling that haunted me when I left the movie theatre. Sure, the US oversight committees have got more pressure on them now, but after a bit of a broohaha at most of the English speaking world's security agencies, it all pretty much seems to be a bit forgotten now.
Though not for Snowden of course. He is still on the bad guy list. Perhaps forever?
Verdict: CitizenFour is a good documentary that sometimes focuses a bit too much on the people telling the story than the story itself. It will be interesting to see the follow up to this documentary, charting what happens in the aftermath of the revelations. Perhaps less sensational, less exciting, but in the long run, probably more to the point of what Snowden hoped to achieve. 7 wikileaks out of 10.
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