If Permanent Record is Edward Snowden’s written account of why he did what he did, Citizenfour is the moment it all actually happens. Directed by Laura Poitras, this documentary doesn’t try to dramatise events or turn them into something they’re not. It quietly places you in the room with Snowden as he reveals what he knows and the result is both tense and deeply personal.
The film begins with Poitras receiving encrypted messages from someone calling himself “Citizenfour”. What follows is their first meeting in a Hong Kong hotel room, where Snowden, Poitras, and journalist Glenn Greenwald work to make sense of the files Snowden has leaked.
There’s no music trying to build suspense, no narration telling you what to think. The camera just observes. You see Snowden explaining what’s about to come, carefully choosing his words, and occasionally checking that the room isn’t bugged. It’s understated but incredibly powerful because you can sense the scale of what’s unfolding; the kind of story that changes how people see their governments and their privacy forever.
What Citizenfour does well is strip away the noise. Snowden isn’t painted as a hero or a villain; he’s simply a person trying to do what he believes is right, fully aware of the consequences. You can see the nerves, the exhaustion, and the quiet determination.
It’s easy to forget how risky those days were for everyone involved. The journalists are under pressure, Snowden knows he might never go home again, and the outside world is completely unaware of what’s about to hit it. The film captures that tension perfectly without ever needing to exaggerate it.
Because the film focuses so tightly on those few days in Hong Kong, it doesn’t spend much time on what happens next; the fallout, the debates, or how the revelations changed public opinion. In that sense, Citizenfour is more about the act of whistleblowing itself than its long-term effects.
But that’s also part of what makes it work. It’s not trying to be an encyclopaedia of events; it’s a snapshot of a moment in history, seen from the inside. It’s honest and restrained and that restraint gives it weight.
Watching Citizenfour today, it’s impossible not to think about how relevant it still feels. The questions Snowden raised about surveillance, data collection, and government transparency haven’t gone away; if anything, they’ve become even more urgent.
This film reminds you of the cost of speaking out and how fragile truth can be in a world built on secrecy. It doesn’t preach, it doesn’t sensationalise; it simply shows. And that makes it one of the most important documentaries of its time.
Citizenfour pairs perfectly with Permanent Record. One gives you the context, the background, and Snowden’s own reflections; the other shows the moment it all unfolded. Together, they tell one of the most significant stories of the digital age.
It’s not an easy watch, and it’s not meant to be. But it’s calm, clear, and quietly gripping; a film that lingers long after the credits roll.
Buy a copy of Citizenfour on Amazon.
