Citizen 4 Review
Edward Snowden’s journey from US military worker to global refugee seeking asylum and finally now to social pariah in some people’s eyes or hero to others is documented exceptionally well in the movie “Citizenfour.” Other documentaries usually take a narrative approach, with mostly third party viewpoints overlooking interactions, Citizenfour takes a very direct route with actual interactions coming from more or less the first person perspective as Laura Poitras takes the viewer on her journey as well.
Since Edward Snowden as a persona is so polarizing, trying to remain unbiased in a presentation of him poses a tall task for the producers of this documentary. With this job, however, the documentary does terrific. Hardly any indication of likenesses are presented or the opposite, so the viewer is able to form his or her own viewpoint without shaping from the film itself.
If a friend asked me for movie suggestions, I would definitely recommend Citizenfour to them. Not only is Citizenfour entertaining and gripping as a film, but since it is classified as a documentary, it is educational as well. One can really learn a lot from watching this film and they don’t have to not enjoy the fact that they are learning either. In general, Citizenfour does an incredible job of taking a delicate subject and turning it into something truly magnificent.
