CITIZENFOUR (2014)

The origins of Citizenfour began in January 2013, when filmmaker Laura Poitras began receiving anonymous, encrypted emails from someone claiming to have evidence of illegal surveillance programs being done by the NSA, often with the cooperation of foreign governments.  These emails would lead her, along with reporters Glenn Greenwald and Ewan MacAskill, to Hong Kong several months later, where holed up in a hotel room they would begin interviews with the young man determined to make the world aware of the illegal electronic prying on their private lives ... former NSA employee Edward Snowden.  You have to keep reminding yourself, while watching Citizenfour, that these aren't actors - that you're really watching Snowden; really seeing how this played out once the media got wind of it.  But in the end, while at times riveting and always important, the film isn't likely to change your opinion on Snowden himself; what you do get, instead, is a portrait of a man who just wanted his fellow citizens to know the truth, even at the cost of his own freedom. (rated R)  B