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IFC Films present C.S.A. The Confederate States Of America. Written by Kevin Willmott. Running Time: 89 minutes. Rated PG-13 for strong thematic material involving racial issues, language & disturbing images.
Director:
Kevin Willmott
Cast:
Charles Frank..”¦”¦..British Narrator
The Movie:
The quotes on the DVD case describe the film as “Brilliant!,” “Hilarious,” and “A Ferocious Satire!” Yet when watching this film none of these words come to mind. Kevin Willmott certainly has an interesting idea here, this “What if?” of American history. But the film comes off more as “disturbing,” “boring,” and “trying too hard.”
C.S.A. is a mock BBC documentary of American history, had the South won the Civil War. It tackles all the major events in U.S. history. When Hitler decided to wipe out the Jews, the President suggested not killing them but making them slaves. The film just kind of goes on like that, historical moment after moment twisted through this “what if” mirror. The spots in between the mock documentary are also spoofs with commercials about this Confederate-run country. Things like Sambo car oil; a TV show called Leave it Beulah, about a slave woman cook who never knows what’s cooking; or Darky toothpaste “for a shine that’s Jigaboo bright.”
As far as emulating the BBC documentary Willmott succeeded admirably. It’s just as long and bland and boring as one might expect from the BBC. Other reviews of this film call the humor “deadpan” but it doesn’t seem that. The humor seems non-existent; things that are supposed to be funny just come off as straight racist and insulting. That’s not to say that jokes cannot be made on these subjects. Dave Chappelle tackled similar racial subjects on his show all the time bring huge laughs. However, Willmott is no Chappelle.
That last couple minutes of the film are the most interesting. It shows that products like Darky toothpaste, and Sambo oil, as well as restaurants like Coon Chicken Inn – which is debated about in Ghost World – really existed.
Scary to think about: Confederates on the moon.
The DVD:
The Video:
The film is presented fullscreen 1.33:1. The look of this film is just fine. It captures the feel of a real documentary very well and all the “old footage” looks very legit.
The Audio:
The film is presented in Stereo. The sound here is fine as well, nothing really special or stand out about it.
Extras:
Commentary with Kevin Willmott and producer Rick Cowan: Wow, these guys just think they are so frickin’ clever. I guess if you find this movie funny then you might find their insight worthwhile. But I’d avoid the whole damn thing if I were you.
Reality of the Fiction — Commentary with Kevin Willmott: This is perhaps the most interesting thing on this DVD. Willmott talks about how he used our real history to create this alternate reality. He seems like a smart man and hearing why he made the film and what he was trying to say is far more enlightening than the film itself.
Deleted Scenes: Put these under the “deleted for a good reason” category. Not worth watching at all.
Making of CSA with Filmmakers: This interview with Willmott really shows how intelligent he is. He really put a lot of thought into this film, but smarts doesn’t equal funny.
The Inside Pulse:
Frankly, I found it hard to even finish this movie. Kevin Willmott obviously has something to say, it’s a shame it doesn’t know how to say it. If anything, the film makes you very grateful that the South didn’t win the war.
