Csa: Confederate States of America (2004)
The Darker Side of the Moon.
Starring: |
Brave People |
Released In: |
2004 |
Rated: |
R |
Reviewed By: |
Adam Mast |
Grade: |
B+ |
Have you ever watched those interesting and informative documentaries on the History Channel? CSA is one of those. The catch here is that The Confederate States of America is an audacious mockumentary that shows what could have been had the South won the Civil War.
Firstly, I must admit that I'm not much of a history buff. I find it interesting and know a fair share but it's not something I've studied religiously.
CSA is crammed with so much information that many might find it a daunting film experience. And it's safe to say that if you don't have at least a basic knowledge of the Civil War, you will be lost.
Screenwriter/director Kevin Willmott (a historian himself) has fashioned a truly creative piece of art that will surely offend some people, but for those of you who enjoy satire and welcome the provocative, CSA will be right up your alley.
CSA is brilliant on so many levels. It unfolds as a History channel documentary complete with commercials (edgy, satirical fare that brought to mind the ads in Paul Verhoeven's Robocop). The CSA documentary itself plays as if the South did win the Civil War, and presents mock historians and altered glimpses into a past that could have been. It suggests that Abraham Lincoln joined the Underground Railroad, and has the nerve to imply that we had an alliance with Adolph Hitler. CSA also presents a world in which slave owning is a common thing, going so far as to reveal that slaves can be purchased on the home shopping network.
No doubt, a lot of people won't find this sort of thing funny. In fact, there were people who reportedly walked out of screenings of CSA at Sundance citing reverse racism and other such nonsense. I found the film incredibly compelling, and never took it too seriously.
CSA isn't always effective. Some of the commercials are very funny while others fall flat. The recreations of past information (including mock film clips) are sporadically entertaining, but stylistically, some left a bit to be desired.
I also found myself questioning certain aspects of the film. If CSA is depicting a country in which African Americans don't have rights, I was a bit confused as to why one of the central historians narrating the documentary was African American herself.
These are minor quibbles, however, pointed towards an otherwise thought provoking, ambitious experiment of a movie that pushes the medium in a new direction. Kevin Willmott takes a lot of chances here, and as a whole, this mockumentary is more than effective. Satire can be tough and CSA: Confederate States of America works more often than not. This is a funny, bold movie.
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