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Redacted
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MPAA RATING: R for strong disturbing violent content including a rape, pervasive language and some sexual references/images
Starring Kel O'Neill, Ty Jones, Daniel Stewart Sherman, Izzy Diaz, Rob Devaney, and Patrick Carroll
A fictional story inspired by true events, Redacted is a unique cinematic experience that will force viewers to radically reconsider the filters through which we see and accept events in our world, as well as the power of the mediated image and how presentation and composition influence our ideas and beliefs. A profound meditation on the way information is packaged, distributed, and received in an era with infinite channels of communication, Redacted uses a variety of created source material--video diaries, produced documentary, surveillance footage, online testimonials, news pieces--to comment on the extreme disconnect between the surface of an image and the reality of ideas and the truth, especially in times of strife. Centered around a small group of American soldiers stationed at a checkpoint in Iraq, Redacted alternates points of view, balancing the experiences of these young men under duress, as well as the perspective of members of the media, with the viewpoint of the local Iraqi people, and illuminates how each have been deeply affected by the current conflict and through their encounters with each other. The charged apotheosis of Brian De Palma's filmmaking career, Redacted caps off a body of work that has explored the politics of image-making and reception more fully than any living filmmaker. (Magnolia)
| GENRE(S): | Drama | War |
| WRITTEN BY: | Brian De Palma |
| DIRECTED BY: | Brian De Palma |
| RELEASE DATE: |
DVD: February 19, 2008 Theatrical: November 16, 2007 |
| RUNNING TIME: | 90 minutes, Color |
| ORIGIN: | USA |
| LANGUAGE(S): | English / French |
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
The average user rating for this movie is 4.2 (out of 10) based on 49 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Sean F gave it a6:
Not as good or as bad as most say. An interesting/controversial look at what U.S. troops are accomplishing in Iraq. I don't see why some have branded this movie unpatriotic. If we don't think about things like this, how can we learn from the mistakes of history, and improve our actions in the world in the future?
Chad S. gave it an8:
An internet slam poetess self-aggrandizingly vociferates about Hollywood's uneven depiction of American and Third World lives, in which a film like "Casualties of War" would be an exception to the rule, because it forces an audience to face the dissonant music of war; that the soldiers, "our boys", we see in the military recruitment videos nothing but mere end-products of wishful thinking. Like the underrated 1989 film starring Michael J. Fox & Sean Penn, American soldiers rape and kill a girl in "Redacted", a no-holds barred film that indicts everybody from filmmakers(even himself, he who directed "Casualties of War") to journalists, as profiteers of other people's misery and suffering. The faux-documentary, the film within the film, shows us how the media, not only soldiers, occupy a military state and act as collaborators of death. Salazar(Izzy Diaz) shoots his "war diary" to get into film school; the French documentarians shoot their film(judging by their flagrant use of artistry; the ants taking down the scorpion) to gain entrance into film festivals and win awards. When a young Iraqi girl's body is delved into by an American soldier's hands at checkpoint, the man behind the camera should turn it off, walk into that private holding room, and separate that marine from the nubile. It's more important to the filmmaker that he catch an American soldier behaving badly than being a decent human being. "Redacted" deconstructs the documentary film. To quote director Francis Ford Coppola when asked by a reporter about "Apocalypse Now" at the 1979 Cannes Film Festival, "This is Vietnam..."
Martin F. gave it a10:
The Americans hate the fact that the world hates them. Their propaganda machine is powerless against one thing: truth. Only simple truth distinguishes ugly from the pure. Likewise, users and critics didn't hesitate to show their ugliness and beauty with their ratings here, as if they can bend the truth in any way.
j gave it a6:
Powerful film, generally it is believably done, but there are a couple of scenes that don't ring true. A compelling piece of filmmaking, gritty and realistically filmed. The acting is fair. I have to give credit to director Brian de Palma for at least trying something different.
Islam A. gave it a10:
At last someone that is not brain washed, describes the pain and agony that every Iraqi lives due to American invasion, lots of voices say that this is only a very small percentage of soldiers actions, but let us assume that she was a French girl that was rapped under Nazi invasion, would not this movie be a master piece in this case, every one that hate this movie, hate it because the power unbiased message that it deliver.
Peter P gave it a10:
This movie is great, stop complaining
Peter F. gave it a10:
An important contribution to recognizing the hidden costs of our illegal invasion.
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