the story of edward snowden's whistleblowing has intrigued me
in a sense a martyr to the cause of personal (digital) freedom
so very excited to see this film quietly hit the big screen
our friday night viewing underwhelming in bums on seats
and a quiet fear that the general populace - nah - who cares
the film opens with footage from inside a car in a long tunnel
the documentary format kicking in with some plain text displayed
providing background to the main players and the main game on show
laura poitras is the director/producer/filmer and already on the nsa watchlist
brazilian based reporter glenn greenwald writes for the uk paper the guardian
some footage of him at home writing articles on other nsa whistleblowers
war vet william binney for one - went public about the nsa's covert plans
he seen giving public talks with others about the growing infringements
interesting - but - anxious to get to the story of the main man - snowden
he makes contact with lp and gg and arranges for a secret rendezvous
this in hong kong - out of the tunnel and then onto the busy streets
then the man is in frame as the trio's first meeting is being filmed
the focus is on edward snowden as he begins to divulge details
he a contractor for the nsa - with the highest of security passes
now alarmed at the depth and spread of surveillance systems
far out-stripping any legislation in place or mooted for debate
first impression - one very intelligent, articulate and brave man
forward-thinking too - we are the fly-on-the-wall - mesmerising
i remember the news footage at the time and now we are right there
up close and personal never more appropriate for a historical moment
snowden has released via greenwald highly classified nsa documents
these describing the extent of the surveillance systems that are used
as repercussions start kicking in we are witness to honest discussion
the plan is for snowden to go public and his reasoning is laid bare
he does not want to skulk but be open and honest about his actions
one reason - to encourage others to also take up this noble cause
the very footage seen all over tv at the time then seen recorded
nothing but total admiration now for the man - very, very cool
as he goes public via gg there's also footage of various reactions
obama for one saying he would have preferred to control the release
as if that was going to happen - more credibility doubts for the c-in-c
the authorities use a spy law from the 1940's to lay charges on snowden
so a return to the u.s. of a likely to lead to a very long prison sentence
the focus of the film now remaining with snowden's clear thinking
he is contacted by chinese lawyers for the united nations h r c
one named mr man seen arranging safe passage to their offices
julian assange also on screen organising flights for snowden
next seen living in moscow with his american girlfriend
his future unclear but in a sense his mission accomplished
the issue of government sanctioned surveillance now public
not necessarily curtailed but at least more exposed/discussed
some reviewers rated this film better than fictionised espionage
totally - nearly 2 hours of at times jaw-dropping commentary
and the conclusion/credits rolling with some stunning music
this film an outstanding success on every level - a must-see
so glad to have made further acquaintance with this man
modern-day hero - may he continue to gather friends...
