Speaking with the Australian press via The Sydney Morning Herald, heralded American director Oliver Stone drew parallels with his latest thriller Snowden and George Orwell's very own 1984. Covering topics like mass surveillance and powers of the state over civilization can make for worrying reading. The filmmaker also takes a step back as he took a shot at one of the US Presidential candidates at the same time.
"It's very much a 1984 world. We are all being told how to think and being manipulated and while I think it's important the Democratic party gets to appoint the next Supreme Court justice, on the other hand you have Mrs. Clinton, who is one of the greatest warmongers of our generation, and that makes me very concerned about her attitude and aggression towards foreign countries."
Stone No Stranger To Real Life Characters
Historical moments in American history always seem to draw 70-year old Oliver Stone in on a project and now he adds to his acclaimed work. After creating the likes of Platoon, Born on the Fourth of July, Nixon, The People vs. Larry Flynt and JFK, Stone has adapted his skilled story-telling ability towards one of the most divisive and controversial figures of modern times.
"Ed may go down in history as one of those guys who actually made a difference to his time," he reflects. "This is the beginning of a new generation that won't even know what they are losing. Ironically, a lot of them are here today, in the streets of San Diego, and I think many of them still take things for granted about their privacy."
Early Reviews Mixed As Critics Believe It Falls Short of CitizenFour Documentary
How can you improve on the real thing? This is the struggle Oliver Stone has had to confront after following on from the critically acclaimed 2014 documentary CitizenFour almost two years later. That film gave a direct account of real life events from the man himself. Snowden explained his motivations and offered an insight into his life post the leaks to the press in Hong Kong.
The Wall Street Journal described Stone's attempted as "fragmented". The New Yorker believed that it had a "narrow-focus" to pack in the scale of the former NSA worker's actions and the consequences they carried to today.
Snowden currently has a score of 58% on RottenTomatoes.
Comments