Review of Redacted (2007) by Len M — 22 Jan 2008

I think the point here is the whole multimedia pastiche. Depalma tells a fictionalized version based on true events. Blending traditional film with Blair witch style first person shooting, Mock recreations of a French Documentary, Al Jazeera news footage, Insurgent and Embedded camera footage, you tube footage you name it, it's in this film.

Iit is quite brilliant. The subject matter is hardly original specifically reminiscent of Depalma's own Casualties of War, Full Metal Jacket, Platoon, and the more recent Three Kings it is extremely unpleasant subject matter, but that is sort of the point.

Depalma isn't making this stuff up, this stuff sort of really happens and continues to happen. The lack of a known actor, a deliberate choice, makes for a strong ensemble cast and also makes the characters seem more real.

I saw this at TIFF and the audience was just kind of stunned. It's not great entertainment, but it is extremely relevant to the discussion of the Iraq war and war in general. If you support the war in Iraq, my question is would you want to go or would you want to send a family member to go into this situation.

If anyone says yes, they must be delusional if they think they are actually going to have made a difference and come back in one piece.