Citizenfour

Rating: 3.5 Stars

This is the Oscar-winning documentary about how Edward Snowden stole and leaked information on the NSA's spying and data collection programs in 2013. Not extraordinary, but certainly engaging. Definitely worth a watch just to (a) understand why Edward Snowden stepped forward (b) how this information was revealed to the media and the resulting consequences for Snowden (c) what exactly the US government has been spying on and tapping into. It uses authentic footage of the hotel in Hong Kong from which Snowden and a few reporters sent out the leaks, and describes day by day account of the releases from their point of view. It plays out like low-key political thriller, but definitely has a few very sobering and mildly disconcerting moments.