Rated R for profanity, 114 min.
To call Laura Poitrass documentary about Edward Snowden one of the most important films made in 2014, it made several critics 10 Best of the Year lists, might intimidate some viewers. But to skip this compelling, infuriating, thought-provoking film would be a monumental missed opportunity. Through in-depth interviews, we learn more about the National Security Agency than we ever knew, or guessed. Poitras met Snowden while he was in self-imposed exile in Hong Kong for revealing protected secrets about the use of phone, wireless, and e-mail surveillance by the NSA. Regardless of whether viewers consider Snowden a martyr, a hero, or a traitor, theres no denying his story is eye-opening and frequently shocking. Snowden chose Pulitzer Prize-winning filmmaker Poitras and journalists Glenn Greenwald and Ewen MacAskill to tell his side of the story, and Citizenfour documents the eye-opening interview where we learn more about government-sanctioned invasion of privacy and the intimidation faced by Snowden when his identity as whistleblower was discovered. It adds up to a powerful and frightening portrait of authoritarian power run amuck. Such revelations could become too depressing, but as critic A.O. Scott in the New York Times contends, the film is a tense and frightening thriller that blends the brisk globe-trotting of the Bourne movies with the spooky, atmospheric effects of a Japanese horror film. In truth, Citizenfour is more compelling than any fictional spy thriller, because the film almost makes us feel like we're spies, discovering for ourselves a dark labyrinth of intrigue, deception, veiled threats, and constant surveillance. It's enough to make moviegoers a little paranoid, but that might be a necessary defense in post-9/11 America: paranoia, and perhaps some outrage at what our elected leaders are doing in the name of security.