Review of Redacted (2007) by Tina P — 21 Aug 2010

The description of the film attached to this post is nowhere near detailed enough or on point enough to get across how searing the experience of watching it is on the emotions of the viewer. For me, this is a true horror film.

I could not bear to look at the screen at the end, felt physically sick frequently throughout and think it is one of the most essential viewing experiences of my life; both for cinematic quality and human interest.

This is so much more than a treatise on the filter through which we view the world. This is profoundly political; simultaneously questioning the reasons for war and the effect such conflict has on every participant, whether civilian or combatant, on whichever side of the division.

No person can experience sustained violence and not be affected; the different personalities which develop and break in the conflict have almost inevitable terrible consequences. The reasons for the actions of all the characters are clearly laid out in the sparse yet telling character development in a deep and efficient script.

It makes me angry, afraid and very glad I saw it. Deeply, deeply affecting.