In June 2013, filmmaker Laura Poitras and journalist Glenn Greenwald met with Snowden confidentially in Hong Kong, where he handed over classified documents providing evidence of mass indiscriminate and illegal invasions of privacy by the National Security Agency (NSA). As the story breaks, they are forced to manage the raging media storm around them, and find their personal security and that of their loved ones under threat.
CITIZENFOUR not only shows you the dangers of governmental surveillance—it makes you feel them. After seeing the film, you will never think the same way about your phone, email, credit card, web browser, or profile, ever again.
★★★★★ “A gripping record of how our rulers are addicted to gaining more and more power and control over us – if we let them” THE GUARDIAN
★★★★★ “An astonishing, immeasurably important historical document… a Hitchcockian suspense-fest” SEVEN DAYS
★★★★ “Riveting… the most indispensable documentary of the year” BBC
★★★★ “A fascinating film that’s also a crucial social document” NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
★★★★ “Bold, unblinking filmmaking… alarming and essential – anyone with a phone should see it” EMPIRE
★★★★ “Extraordinary… shocking” THE INDEPENDENT
★★★★ “A real-life thriller… gripping” THE TIMES
★★★★ “Chilling, striking… Eye-opening and essential” TIME OUT LONDON
– “CITIZENFOUR is less film than monutental event… remarkable” A.V. CLUB
– Shocking… it’s the haunting stuff of Orwellian nightmares, unfolding right in front of us” THE PLAYLIST, INDIEWIRE
– “Profoundly chilling… if you think Snowden is a traitor, you should probably see it. If you think he’s a hero, you should probably see it” THE BOSTON GLOBE
– “A real-life thriller that hits you like a slap in the face” ROLLING STONE
– “Poitras brilliantly demonstrates that information is a weapon that cuts both ways” VARIETY
– “This isn’t just a documentary—this is history” CHICAGO READER
– “Unfolds like a real-life thriller… mesmerising” WASHINGTON POST
– “A tense and frightening thriller” THE NEW YORK TIMES
– “World-shaking” THE VILLAGE VOICE
– “Not a lot of moments in documentary cinema equal CITIZENFOUR” WALL STREET JOURNAL
– “You should see this movie if you’re naïve enough to think you have a right to privacy” VULTURE
– “This revelatory work is fascinating and thought-provoking… one of the major and defining documentaries of recent times” THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
IN CINEMAS FEBRUARY 2015
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