Citizenfour

Well, hello there government type peoples.  Just a heads up, I'm reviewing a film.  That is all.  You may return to your regular governmental business which I'm sure includes nothing illegal.

On a technical level Citizenfour really impressed me at first.  The director really seems to have the same sensibilities as David Fincher, even using a NIN score.  In fact, I'd go so far as to say that if Fincher made a documentary it'd look and feel quite a lot like this.  I also found it interesting how she could connect these seemingly unrelated clips and make them feel like chapters in the same story.  But the momentum that she built at the beginning was quickly lost and the film started to feel like exactly what it was...watching long segments of C-Span.  It wasn't until Snowden showed up that the film got interesting again.

Snowden, on the surface, is an interesting and likable guy.  He's intelligent and, if you've ever met people like this before you know what I'm talking about, very much an I.T. guy.  There's a certain kind of humor and disposition that comes along with that.

Okay, let's cut through the chuffa.  Did Snowden do the right thing?  Or, at least, did he go about what he did the right way?  The simple answer is yes.  He couldn't trust the system.  I mean, what's the point of reporting that a system is corrupt right back to that exact same system?  He took steps necessary to be sure that the information was being transferred and disseminated in an unbiased way.  No, it wasn't an ideal situation, but it was the best he could do given the circumstances he was under.  I believe him when he says that it's not about him.  He wasn't seeking publicity, but he genuinely acted on moral grounds.