Chris Henrys Dealer Posted November 16, 2007 Report Share Posted November 16, 2007 "Redacted" stuns Venice Fri Aug 31, 2007 11:33AM EDT By Silvia Aloisi VENICE (Reuters) - A new film about the real-life rape and killing of a 14-year-old Iraqi girl by U.S. soldiers who also murdered her family stunned the Venice festival, with shocking images that left some viewers in tears. "Redacted", by U.S. director Brian De Palma, is one of at least eight American films on the war in Iraq due for release in the next few months and the first of two movies on the conflict screening in Venice's main competition. Inspired by one of the most serious crimes committed by American soldiers in Iraq since the 2003 invasion, it is a harrowing indictment of the conflict and spares the audience no brutality to get its message across. De Palma, 66, whose "Casualties of War" in 1989 told a similar tale of abuse by American soldiers in Vietnam, makes no secret of the goal he is hoping to achieve with the film's images, all based on real material he found on the Internet. [b]"The movie is an attempt to bring the reality of what is happening in Iraq to the American people," he told reporters after a press screening. "The pictures are what will stop the war. One only hopes that these images will get the public incensed enough to motivate their Congressmen to vote against this war," he said. Abeer Qasim Hamza al-Janabi was gang raped, killed and burnt by American soldiers in Mahmudiya, south of Baghdad, in March 2006. Her parents and younger daughter were also killed. Five soldiers have since been charged with the attack. Four of them have been given sentences of between 5 and 110 years. Halfway between documentary and fiction, "Redacted" draws on soldiers' home-made war videos, blogs and journals and footage posted on YouTube, reflecting changes in the way the media cover the war. "In Vietnam, when we saw the images and the sorrow of the people we were traumatizing and killing, we saw the soldiers wounded and brought back in body bags. We see none of that in this war," De Palma said. "It's all out there on the Internet, you can find it if you look for it, but it's not in the major media. The media is now really part of the corporate establishment," he said. The film's title refers to how, according to De Palma, mainstream American newspapers and television channels are failing to tell the true story of the war by keeping the most graphic images of the conflict away from public opinion.[/b] "When I went out to find the pictures, I said (to the media) give me the pictures you can't publish," he said, adding that because of legal dangers he too had to "edit" the material. "Everything that is in the movie is based on something I found that actually happened. But once I had put it in the script I would get a note from a lawyer saying you can't use that because it's real and we may get sued," De Palma said. "So I was forced to fictionalize things that were actually real." The film, shot in Jordan with a little known cast, ends with a series of photographs of Iraqi civilians killed and their faces blacked out for legal reasons. "I think that's terrible because now we have not even given the dignity of faces to this suffering people," De Palma said. "The great irony about Redacted is that it was redacted." Distributor Magnolia has planned a limited U.S. release for later this year, and the film may be easier to sell to European audiences rather than to the American public. "This is a harrowing experience you put the audience through. It is not something you want to go to on a delightful Saturday evening but this message must be put forward and hopefully the public will respond," De Palma said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homer_Rice Posted November 16, 2007 Report Share Posted November 16, 2007 Running on HDNet now for those who get the channel. I was not as impressed as others; fairly stereotypical war movie when you get down to it. Although the subject matter is topical, it reminded me of Casualties of War, even down to some of the dialogue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USN Bengal Posted November 20, 2007 Report Share Posted November 20, 2007 [quote name='Homer_Rice' post='594055' date='Nov 16 2007, 01:05 PM']Running on HDNet now for those who get the channel. I was not as impressed as others; fairly stereotypical war movie when you get down to it. Although the subject matter is topical, it reminded me of Casualties of War, even down to some of the dialogue.[/quote] I agree... although isn't that statement, in and of itself, an indictment of where we are as a society today.... when a movie like this that shows atrocities ISN'T shocking? We are drowning ourselves in a sea of apathy and have dulled our senses to these outrages by the violences that surround us in our daily lives. What a world indeed... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LudwigVan Kubrick Posted November 21, 2007 Report Share Posted November 21, 2007 [quote name='USNBENGAL the Original' post='596881' date='Nov 20 2007, 01:13 PM']I agree... although isn't that statement, in and of itself, an indictment of where we are as a society today.... when a movie like this that shows atrocities ISN'T shocking? We are drowning ourselves in a sea of apathy and have dulled our senses to these outrages by the violences that surround us in our daily lives. What a world indeed...[/quote] It is easy to get numb, dumbed down and complacent. It is, after all, what our society rewards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|BlackJesus| Posted November 28, 2007 Report Share Posted November 28, 2007 [b]Bill O'Reilly told me I'm not supposed to watch it [/b] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Johnny Fever Posted November 28, 2007 Report Share Posted November 28, 2007 So the only negative view/story of the war he can film is from an isolated anti American point of view? On top of that he's already told this story with Casualties of War. He's just trying to capitalize on anti American sentiment, but sell it to us as controversial. What a dick! He reminds me of that director on the movie True Romance. I don't know why, but that's the guy I keep visualizing in my head. [img]http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n135/charris1010/tr49w.jpg[/img] [img]http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n135/charris1010/9_t.jpg[/img] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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