"Where is the modern battlefield? Soldiers." "Everywhere." "What is the first rule of war?" "Never reveal your position." "If someone outside knows , Congress knows too. Then the enemy knows too." This is what Snowden's boss and mentor taught him. At first, Snowden obeyed while traveling, but in the end he still couldn't persuade himself, so he chose to quit and leak secrets. A once-obscured geek turned himself into the biggest news protagonist of the 21st century.
"Confidentiality is safety, and safety is victory." Standing on the hunting ground deep in the winter forest, Snowden received this teaching tremblingly. Obviously, director Oliver Stone cleverly and clearly used this line to connect and reflect the "war is peace, freedom is slavery, and ignorance is power" in "1984". To this day, the discussion surrounding Snowden has not stopped. Some people think that he is a hero of liberalism, and some people think that he is an accomplice of terrorism. Obviously, Oliver Stone is shaping his fearless side. So far, the most outstanding video work about Snowden should be the documentary "Fourth Citizen". Compared with the documentary that is calm, direct, and attempts to approach Snowden to the greatest extent, this movie "Snowden" Based on real events, various imaginative details that fuel the flames are mixed in at the same time. To a large extent, what it wants to explore is the reason for the turning point of Snowden.
From Oliver Stone’s point of view, Snowden has always been a "patriot." At first, this young soldier was proud of his identity. The famous hacker is also out of patriotism. At least until then, he believed that everything he did was just. And the breakthrough he witnessed to the surveillance boundary changed his understanding a little bit.
It has to be said that Snowden played by J. Cerf basically restores the true image and temperament he himself presented in the documentary, regardless of his skinny or even a little cute appearance, or the firm eyes that sometimes show. Snowden in the movie is sensitive, kind, firm, unsocial, and even fragile, and he also suffers from epilepsy. It is more likely that all of these character and physical reasons are righteous or evil for his work. In the entanglement, the common chemical reaction pushed him to the end. He has many colleagues and colleagues, and they all witnessed the same thing. When the leaders of their department lied in front of Congress, the colleagues looked at the TV screen silently, showing each other embarrassed expressions, but everything was there. So far, and Snowden couldn't stop there, he decided to take one more step forward. But this step is a devastating step, both for the department I have struggled with, and for the rest of my life. Sometimes, a person chooses to do something earth-shattering, it is difficult to tell whether it was a personal choice or some reason for being "selected". Some factors, like something unspeakable, landed on someone's head at a certain moment, prompting him to take that step.
If this film is different from all previous reports and documentaries, in fact, it is nothing more than telling people that Snowden is also an ordinary person, confused, hesitant, longing for love, and even when he is at a loss. Will be irritable and upset. In most people's minds, Snowden is a symbol. He seems to have been calmly preparing for major leaks in the future. He is meticulous and well planned, like an exquisite instrument, but this movie presents more of the image of this lone fighter. Many daily details that have been obscured and neglected behind the scenes. The most interesting part of this biopic is obviously not how well-known hotels in Hong Kong discuss with a few reporters on topics that shocked the world. It was his psychological trajectory as a newcomer in the intelligence industry until he was appreciated by his superiors and then began to wonder in his heart.
Because he has firm values, he will decide to resist when something is violated or tampered with. In essence, he is still a liberal, convinced that some borders cannot be violated. His boss told him that Americans do not need freedom now, they need safety. Snowden said, but they didn't know they were making such a deal. That moment was when he really made a decision.
In fact, there is another very interesting angle, that is, those colleagues of Snowden. Many of them actually neither understand nor have any interest in politics. They are just a group of geeks. They are more of a secretive and evil interest in using technology to monitor the lives of others. They also think that it invades privacy, but this idea flashes. However, they are ordinary people in the true sense. Do you say that they are doing evil or doing good, holding the greatest sense of justice and believing that they are dealing with terrorists, or are they maliciously trying to completely destroy the free world? Actually none, they are just working. What kind of existence does this group of people actually exist?
There are many familiar actors in this movie, and they flashed in various supporting roles. Nicholas Cage, a senior employee who is full of resentment towards the organization, watched Snowden on the news at the end and exclaimed, meaning It's complicated, and Shailene Woodley, who plays Snowden's girlfriend, can also be considered a degree of flexibility. Perhaps the most touching thing about this movie is the last line of subtitles. Snowden's girlfriend moved to Russia to live with him. Snowden was destined to never lead a normal life again, but he just tried to make himself and others live as usual.
View more about Snowden reviews
