Citizenfour

Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not watching you, in other words avoid a fire alarm at all costs. A (non)conspiracy thriller par excellence in the form of an unfinished documentary. I understand that when they started filming, they still couldn't know exactly how it would progress and what would be unleashed, but that does not justify the poor dramaturgy done "in the editing room" during the completion. Maybe it should have been made later than only after one year or it should have not covered so many topics. It's a little bit about Snowden, but not that much. It's a little bit about the phenomenon of whistleblowing, but not that much. It's a little bit about the leaked materials, but not that much. It's a little bit about moral and ethical issues, what to publish/hide, but not that much. It's a bit about secret government programs, but not that much. It's a bit about the work of investigative journalists and the media in general, but not that much. It's a bit about everything from this department, because a lot of things are briefly mentioned but only a little is actually said and even less that we wouldn't (in the meantime) already know from elsewhere. None of the above, however, means that it would be bad or uninteresting. It's just wasted rather than anything else, because having the possibility to talk to an unprecedented source during (even after) such historical event calls for so much more than Laura Poitras did. Because he was afraid to ask Snowden displeasing questions. Others had to do that for him. PS: Citizienfour is a perfect example of the type of documentary in which the "importance" of the chosen event/topic is often (and easily) confused with the "importance" of the documentary as such. (17/02/2015)

This is exactly the reason why people should watch documentaries. They can learn quite a lot from a relatively reliable source. You can also form your own opinion about what you see. Snowden is an interesting character and obviously paranoid, but what he presents is just an example that security is currently something that may not be so secure. (21/03/2015)