This biographical film is different. His protagonist is still very young. This biographical film breaks away from the "past tense" routine of previous biographical films:
the events told in the film were just a few years ago. It's like watching a documentary instead of watching a movie.
Snowden is a movie in the present tense.
The film does not try to tell too much, but focuses on two parts:
before and after Snowden exposed the US government surveillance scandal, and the emotional experience of Snowden and his wife outside the incident.
Even so, this film encountered great resistance when it first started shooting.
First of all, no film company in the United States dares to make it.
The film wouldn't exist if it hadn't ended up getting funding in France and Germany.
After the filming was over, I encountered difficulties again when it was released. The movie is rated Rated.
Similarly, the documentary about Snowden, "The Fourth Citizen", was also rated as restricted in the United States.
Guangguang didn't understand at first, shouldn't it, a documentary, a biographical movie, without any scenes of bloody violence and pornography, why is it a R-rated movie?
Later, Guangguang understood: Snowden is a thorn in the eyes of the US government, and he even made movies to promote him. Is this the rhythm of wanting to rebel?
A film that tries to tell the truth, being treated like this, has aroused Guangguang's curiosity!
After reading it, I still benefited a lot. I used to have the impression of Snowden as a "scandal whistleblower". After reading it, I have a better understanding of why Snowden did it, and what he did it for.
The two lines of the film explain in parallel, one is the documentary "The Fourth Citizen", which mainly expounds, the beginning of the Prism Gate incident, and the talks between Snowden and the Guardian reporter in Hong Kong.
Compared with documentaries that are limited to "documenting what happens in the moment," movies have more room for presentation.
At the beginning, the film faithfully restored the scene of Snowden meeting with reporters.
Snowden set the code, he would hold a Rubik's cube, and reporters would ask him when the restaurant would open.
Snowden would answer and recommend a good place, so it was natural for reporters to go with him.
The film reproduces scenes that documentaries cannot, not only more complete, but also a good example of Snowden's caution as a gifted technician.
In the scenes of the Hong Kong hotel interview, the film looks back on some of Snowden's important experiences in his previous life.
Snowden joined the military and went to war in Iraq, determined to serve his country.
But being a soldier is not Snowden's forte. His performance in the army was not outstanding, and he was even injured by a "flat fall" and finally left the army.
After being deported, Snowden joined the CIA. The director chose to use a scene to highlight Snowden's "Patriot" role.
Loyalty test before joining CIA.
In the loyalty test, Snowden's family background came to light, his military background and his grandfather killed on 9/11 made him love his country and government, and wanted to join the government's fight against terrorism. team.
Also, a low-key display of Snowden's genius.
After joining the CIA, Snowden began to flex his muscles.
Access to government surveillance programs.
The important XKEYSOCE in the NSA surveillance system.
At that time, Snowden naively thought that they were monitoring some terrorist.
But the fact is not, but the whole country. Both civilians and terrorists are under surveillance.
The film also shows that Internet companies such as Facebook do not protect users' data, but provide data to government departments as monitoring data.
When looking back at Snowden's exposure to the surveillance scandal, in addition to work, the film also shows the relationship between Snowden and his girlfriend.
Snowden and his girlfriend stayed together less often, and their relationship was conflicted, and they quarreled as soon as they disagreed.
Snowden wanted his girlfriend to delete the private photos on the hard drive, but his girlfriend was not threatening the hacker in Snowden's mouth. As he talked, it turned into that the other party didn't care for him, and the two quarreled again.
To sum up, if a couple wants to quarrel, anything can be the trigger. Forgive the single dog like Guangguang can't understand.
The display of the emotional line allows the audience to see a more comprehensive Snowden. He is not only the whistleblower who listened to the incident, but a person with a single label. He is just like ordinary people.
He has his own difficult balance between his career and his feelings. He has his own principles and bottom lines. If he violates it, he will resist without hesitation.
At the end of the film, Snowden will choose to reveal, and attribute the reason to his girlfriend being listed as one of the targets of surveillance.
Knowing about this, Snowden took away the confidential documents without hesitation and decided to expose them.
In the film, Snowden has always been disgusted with the behavior of monitoring civilians. He works for government agencies, but he does things that go against his own values, which makes him very tangled.
However, taking the monitoring of his girlfriend as the last straw to crush Snowden's heart is strong enough in drama, but showing Snowden is too petty.
Snowden's righteousness to stand up for the privacy rights of citizens has become a small profit to monitor others, but not his own family.
There was a good start, and Snowden, who had a bottom line and was responsible, was established in the middle, but he was not guaranteed at the last moment. A little disappointed.
However, at the end of the film, there is a small benefit that redeems the previous small disappointment.
Snowden himself appears at the end of the film.
Through Snowden himself, I said what the film wanted to say to the audience:
Snowden's life was completely changed because of the exposure of the US government's surveillance scandal.
Originally a stable and happy family, because of his own principles, he could not set foot on the territory of the United States, and could only seek asylum in countries outside the sphere of American influence. But he has no regrets.
There is a sentence in "Journey to the West" that Guangguang likes very much:
What is the use of immortality if you are unhappy in life.
Putting it on Snowden, perhaps, even if he received a high salary in the government sector, what he did was contrary to his own three views, which was a complete torment.
Snowden is doing what he does, even at a huge price, for the freedom of those who are being monitored, and for the freedom of his own heart.
After reading "Snowden", in addition to understanding the surveillance scandal and the hero Snowden of the incident, ask your heart and think about the freedom you want. Then be brave to make it happen.
Everyone can be a hero in their own life, and that may be what Snowden wants to tell you.
First published on the public account: just talking about the movie (gsmovie), a unique and reliable movie review, so that you don't have to worry about not having a good movie to watch.
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