CSA - The Confederate States Of America Reviews

[Highly rated reviewer]

compulsory viewing

Throughout, the satire is incredibly close to the bone, and all the better for it. It should alarm anyone that all the archive footage this fictional documentary uses is in fact real, including scenes of black slaves penned with cattle and vicious police brutality meted out to black rioters. That this alternative history seems so alien and yet is so recognisable eloquently makes the film’s many points about contemporary America.

The makers are clearly aware of how the documentary genre can disable our critical faculties, with experts wheeled out to make prosaic statements sound grave and important, irrespective of how ludicrous they are. This is certainly an important corrective to the Michael Moore School of documentary-making where truth becomes malleable and subject to some fairly wacky political views.

For the first time ever, I actually sat through the whole DVD commentary in which the director explains a lot of the history behind his alternative version and his reasons for shaping his counter-factual as he did. This constitutes almost a film in itself, and is well worth a look.

In all, a highly intelligent and often darkly amusing take on American society, politics and history. Seeing one interviewee after another blithely accept slavery and show off-hand disregard for the idea of abolition should make us think carefully about the ideas that are our own golden calves.

[Highly rated reviewer]

Very Disappointed

A great idea poorly executed. The 'documentary' itself would be boring to watch even if it was about real events, its just like every other run-of-the-mill history program ever made. As it is, a history lesson in history that never was, it is both boring and pointless.

The reason I give this film 2 starts rather than 1 though, is the commercial breaks interspersed in the film. These are all quite funny, and paint a lighthearted, but at the same time quite scary, picture of what the USA could indeed be like had the Civil War gone the other way. If only the main feature had been more of an analysis of how modern society in the Confederate States of America would have run, with only a bit of fake history for some background, this could have been infinitely more enjoyable.

Interesting with a lot of ifs...

The problem with 'what if' or alternative history is that anyone's conjecture will be no more wrong or right than anyone else's. The film does explore the fascinating concept of the South winning the American Civil War and slavery was never abolished. It begins to fall apart when the documentary explores the 20th Century. We really have no way of knowing how Europe or Communism would have responded to a slave trade in America. The acting is pretty poor as are many of the ideas about the alternative history however the commercials are a real opener. At the end of the film a lot of the products advertised that portrayed blacks as slaves are real products that exist in our own history and that some are still in use today. Uncle Ben's rice anyone. What I found to be a little terrifying is that post 911 we seem to be very slowly moving towards the nightmare scenario that is the CSA. Pax Americana.

great idea..shame about the film

the premise of the south winning the american civil seemed to make for a good film...unfortunatly it's too ridiculous to take seriously..what could have a good film turned to be a quite forgettable waste of 90 minutes...

Semi-Interesting !

I sort of found this documentary-type film interesting as it appealed to my interest in American history. However it got quite boring in parts. I did, however, find the mock advert breaks amusing!

Interesting yet bizarre alternative history

Whilst anybody familiar with the history of the Civil War and the South will realise how implausible and far-fetched the alternative reality presented in the CSA is, this ‘mockumentry’ is nonetheless slightly amusing in bits. Although, unless you have a specific interest in satire or alternative history there isn’t much for you.

not bad

worth a watch and have a think about it.

CSA - The Confederate States Of America

I had read reviews of this film which, for the most part, tended to be critical but I thought I'd give it a go as I had missed it when it was on at the cinema. Oh dear, I should have listened to the reviews. An interesting premise is bludgeoned by a lack of subtlety and a heavy handed preaching. When I saw on the end credits 'A Spike Lee Presentation' it put it all into perspective for me.

Good in parts...

This mockumentary did bang the same drum rather too much. However the realisation that many of the fake adverts were based on actual products was rather shocking. Worth a look.

[Highly rated reviewer]

Soon gets silly

The South had no wish to take the non-slave states of the North. The North before the war denied voting rights and functional citizens to blacks in most states. General Grant was not in command of the Union armies until after Gettysburg. I also thought it too serious a topic for comedy.

At times I wondered which side they were actually on. They were quite happy to make jokes at the expense of Abraham Lincoln.