Review of Citizenfour (2014) by Viet Phuong N — 04 Apr 2015

Thrilling subject and setting, wonderful, wonderful protagonist - Mr. Snowden, if only the film can have a little bit more "dramatic salt" the way Michael Moore did in his superb "anti US-gov" trilogy "Bowling for Columbine"/"Fahrenheit 9/11"/"Sicko". Not that Moore's over-dramatization style is really a good thing, but making "Citizenfour" a little bit more emotional, a little bit more intriguing, is somehow justifiable since the subject and the protagonist of this documentary are really, really hard to get in the today net-invasive society, where privacy intrusion by the government has become so every-day that no one questions about its legitimacy, its justifiability any more.... Still, given the urgency and constraint of the filming situation, the film-makers' efforts still deserve our appreciation, for the film did succeed in depicting Ed Snowden the way he wants himself to be - a shy, nervous citizen who just feels his inner-urge to stand up to defend what he considers precious, inalienable little things of the citizenry - privacy, freedom, and democracy. To do that, Snowden knows what would happen to him (in fact, I am not sure that he does understand the extent of the suffers that he has had to suffer, and will have to suffer - the smearing campaign that was shown, in part, brilliantly in "The Thick of It" and "In the Loop") and he did appear to regret the freedom and the comfortable life that he once had. Yet, he went ahead with his determination, without (incredibly enough) any trait of arrogance, vanity, or adventurism - he just wants to "do the right thing", simply as such. I am not sure that his efforts will ever be fruitful enough to help change the net-intrusive society to a better way, especially given the super-power of his homeland - the U.S., but I am sure that watching this film alone is already something inspiring to other people who "want to do the right things" like Snowden. And the more people wanting "to do the right thing", the higher chance for the society to evolve in a better way. Too bad I can only give this film four stars (how coincidental that is!) due to its somehow tepid tempo, but Mr. Snowden and the film-makers can rest assure that his following words will still resonate in my mind for a long time:

"...And I'm more willing to risk imprisonment or any other negative outcome personally than I am willing to risk the curtailment of my intellectual freedom and that of those around me, whom I care for equally as I do for myself.

And again that's not to say that I'm self sacrificing because it gives me, I feel good, in my human experience to know that I can contribute to the good of others...".