Citizen Four

Citizen Four

Key Cast: Edward Snowden, Glenn Greenwald, William Binney

Director: Laura Poitras

Genre:Biography documentary

Themes: Secrecy, Scandal, Betrayal.

Release: November 2014

Key scenes:

A key scene in this documentary is when Edward Snowden is in his hotel room having an interview and the phone rings. Automatically, Snowden becomes suspicious of the phones call and is reluctant to answer it. after he answers it he proceeds to unplug the phone and explains why he does so. This is an important scene because it shows the audience two things about Snowden, these being that he is knows how the government work to get information and secondly that he is paranoid. As soon as the phone rings every thing becomes suspense and they all start to think that the hone ringing is not a coincidence or someone randomly just calling. Throughout the documentary there is a whole idea about paranoia and suspicion, which is backed up in the phone scene. Snowden goes to great lengths to hide everything or be very careful with the information he has. He makes sure that his emails cant be read and that makes sure that he only talks to people he can fully trust. The phone scene is important because Snowden holds all the information that is so important through out the doc, so if Snowden is suspicious then every one should be suspicious.

Another important scene is this film is (similar to the one above( the scene in which he uses a red sheet to cover his face and computer password. This again backs up the point that e has become paranoid about technology. Through out the document, the audience start to become paranoid because we start to get the idea that the government could be watching us right now or has found out information from them in the past. The film evokes paranoia. The scene is important because it shows to the audience why Snowden is doing it. He has become so secretive and paranoid because he knows what the government does, that he cant let any one see his password. He wants people to have the freedom to do and see what they want. He cant even type his password without the fear of someone watching him taking over him. 

Key Micro-features:

A key micro feature in this documentary is cinematography. The documentary uses different camera shots including close ups, which are used to show the emotions of Snowden. The audience gets to see his reactions and feelings about everything that is unfolding within the documentary. Also the close ups add to the intense theme throughout the film as the close ups make it sort of uncomfortable for the viewer and also makes them feel as if they are apart of the situation. The cinematography in the documentary is significant because it helps show emotions which is vital in a story like this because it is all about scandals and the audience needs to be able to see how serious the situation is.

The location of which the the documentary is filmed as we mainly see Snowden in the hotel room. Because it is set mainly in one room, the audience gets the idea that because Snowden has revealed this information, that he has now become trapped and has to hide away. From the mise-en-scene the audience is put in the same position as Snowden.