CSA: The Confederate States of America | DVD Review

The mockumentary is an inherent satire on the documentary genre. It is meant to make you laugh at the ridiculousness of real people, played by actors. C.S.A.: THE CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA pushes that genre further by fusing it with the “What if?” approach. University of Kansas film professor, Kevin Willmott, wrote and directed C.S.A., which is a British history channel documentary on America. This is not the United States of America we all know (and love?) today but rather the Confederate States of America, an America fashioned upon a rewritten history, where the South won the Civil War. As a result, the emancipation proclamation was overturned and slavery was not only preserved but also expanded to different areas of the country and the world. It is not often funny but more so outrageous and sometimes sickening to watch this imagined history unfold. Willmott tells his story through a blend of archival footage and photography, voice-over narration and film recreations from different eras. To further contextualize the documentary in a modern existence, commercial breaks are inserted to promote products in a way that would speak to a nation built on slavery. C.S.A. is sometimes awkward in its approach as it often flirts with underplaying a harsh reality, especially in these commercial moments. The film ultimately vindicates itself when it shows how similar the “what if” is to the “what is.”

The DVD boasts two full feature length commentaries. The first chronicles the making of the film with Willmott and producer, Rick Cowan. The film took over four years to complete and these two do not shy away from expressing their appreciation and gratitude for the people who helped make their project possible. They gush about the actors, many of who were involved behind the scenes. Their tone is light but the imagery is not so it can be jarring. The second commentary is helmed only by Willmott, who explains his motivation behind the historical recreation decisions. He is passionate and decisive. Other features include some flat extended and deleted scenes as well as an interesting enough IFC Films featurette of Q&A with the filmmakers.

C.S.A. is more effective as its history draws closer to present day. The line between fact and fiction becomes thinner and the viewer is more directly involved as it becomes necessary to acknowledge our own racial tendencies in order to ensure that our reality steers away from this now only half-falsehood.

Movie rating – 2.5

Disc Rating – 3