Snowden Vindicated—’Citizenfour’ Documentary Untangles the NSA Leak Saga

Snowden Vindicated—’Citizenfour’ Documentary Untangles the NSA Leak Saga

Citizenfour must have been a maddening documentary to film. Its subject is pervasive global surveillance, an enveloping digital act that spreads without visibility, so its scenes unfold in courtrooms, hearing chambers and hotels. Yet the virtuosity of Laura Poitras, its director and architect, makes its 114 minutes crackle with the nervous energy of revelation.