If you've been subjected to my tweets, you probably know that I was following the NSA leaks (and larger questions) pretty closely last year. And, since I'm currently back in one of the few cities that Laura Poitras' new documentary on the subject, CITIZENFOUR is playing, it's probably no surprise that I went to see it when I got a chance.
The short summary is that it's a great documentary (currently 98% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, 89 (Universal Acclaim) on Metacritic) but more importantly, it's an important film, especially if you haven't been following along with this story. While some have complained both wasy, IMO Poitras strikes a nice balance that nicely encapsulates the larger story of total surveillance while providing fascinating footage of the initial leaks as they happened (funnily enough, both of these made possible by modern technology).
Seeing this side of the story reminded me of when the leaks first broke last year – I was in Berlin for the first time for work (the PRISM story was literally "breaking news" on the TVs as we were boarding), and we made a toast after dinner to the then-anonymous leaker who without a doubt was totally and completely fucked. I hope it's not a spoiler to say that yes, there is a scene in the documentary footage that captures that moment perfectly. It's honestly breathtakingly terrifying, but also extremely thought provoking. Also, spoiler alert, it turns out that even with the tables stacked against you, sometimes you can luck out.
The biggest shame about the film is that it isn't showing more widely, but I'm sure it'll be on all types of digital distribution, licit or otherwise, soon.
Though superlatives can mischaracterize any movie's qualities, it is not an overstatement, I think, to call "Citizenfour," Laura Poitras' film about Edward Snowden, the movie of the century (to date).
The Nation just posted a very lengthy (wide-ranging and deep I suppose they'd say) interview with Snowden – it's one of the more interesting Snowden interviews and if you are looking for more insight into his current political/policy/technology thoughts, it's well worth the read.
For those that like video, Larry Lessig interviewed Snowden the other week at Harvard Law School which is similar in tone/scope to a lot of the other telepresent interviews/Q&A's he's done.