C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America

I was able to catch CSA at the TRUE/FALSE Film Festival in Columbia, MO (great fest, kudos to all involved). The Producer and Director of CSA were there to briefly discuss the film. Sadly, it was held at the Blue Note, which is a fantastic venue for watching bands, but not for screening films. Anyway, on to the review.

Told like a Ken Burns Civil War documentary, CSA really gives a great look at what "might have been." From Jefferson Davis as the President of the United States and his exile of Abraham Lincoln to Canada, to The President meeting with Chancellor Hitler to discuss enslaving the Jewish race as opposed to destroying it to JFK's assasination because of his wanting to end slavery, the film touched on many of the United States' milestone moments told through this alternate universe. The span of American history is so vast that, unfortunately the film raises more questions than could possibly be answered.

The director spoke after the film and said he made this film to bring the subject of race to the forfront and to open discussion about it. As far as a spark for discussion, it works well. I just wish it could have delved deeper into the social, economical and political issues it raises (would there be protests toward slavery as now there are protests against the Bush administration's unilateral attack on Iraq? Interesting topic...).

The one thing that completely blew me away was that all the products advertised in the "commercial breaks" were real. I knew of one or two, but not all of them. That was a very interesting twist that stood out in a film filled with interesting and satirical twists.