User reviews

The movie is pretty interesting, it shows what it could be like if the south won the civil war and slavery still persisted today. The modern-day commercials like the 'Slave Selling Network' and other products that put black people in their minstrel-like places was pretty poignant. The end of the movie showed that some of those commercials that were portrayed were actually REAL products, some used into the 50s.

However, from a 'what if' standpoint, the history is pretty unrealistic. The movie shows the South taking over all of the North, something that would have been impossible, and something the South never intended on doing. They just wanted to secede from the US and form their own country - they did not have the manpower or resources to occupy and conquer all of the North. If you want to read a more probable history of what may have happened if the South had won the war, check out Harry Turtledove's series of books. North and South remain enemies, fight each other in the 1880s, in WWI, WWII, etc. This makes European history pretty different as well, since you didn't have a united America aiding the Allies in the World Wars. The South under exceeding worldwide pressure from its allies ends up ending slavery, but laws are in place to be sure to keep the black man down in such a way that they are not much better off. More realistic I think.

Still, a pretty good movie.

Had one failed diplomatic initiative during the Civil War succeeded, could it have changed all of history? Perhaps. Kevin Willmott's chilling and somewhat plausible alternate history of America was so well produced that even its exceedingly unlikely and prejudiced retelling of the 20th century passes with a bit of artistic license. It assumes, wrongly, that America is a country completely without any virtue, a view to be rejected outright. Assumptions about a Confederate Empire, chattel slavery spread unimpeded and unchallenged throughout the Americas, a ridiculous notion of a "Cotton Curtain" cold war with Canada just don't add up. It could not have evolved that way. Nonetheless, the alternate 19th century history is utterly fascinating. Had Confederate Secretary of State Judah P. Benjamin succeeded in getting European powers to fight for the Confederacy, what would America look like today?

Even with its terribly cynical and often unfair view of America, I admit I couldn't stop thinking about this film.

I was able to catch CSA at the TRUE/FALSE Film Festival in Columbia, MO (great fest, kudos to all involved). The Producer and Director of CSA were there to briefly discuss the film. Sadly, it was held at the Blue Note, which is a fantastic venue for watching bands, but not for screening films. Anyway, on to the review.

Told like a Ken Burns Civil War documentary, CSA really gives a great look at what "might have been." From Jefferson Davis as the President of the United States and his exile of Abraham Lincoln to Canada, to The President meeting with Chancellor Hitler to discuss enslaving the Jewish race as opposed to destroying it to JFK's assasination because of his wanting to end slavery, the film touched on many of the United States' milestone moments told through this alternate universe. The span of American history is so vast that, unfortunately the film raises more questions than could possibly be answered.

The director spoke after the film and said he made this film to bring the subject of race to the forfront and to open discussion about it. As far as a spark for discussion, it works well. I just wish it could have delved deeper into the social, economical and political issues it raises (would there be protests toward slavery as now there are protests against the Bush administration's unilateral attack on Iraq? Interesting topic...).

The one thing that completely blew me away was that all the products advertised in the "commercial breaks" were real. I knew of one or two, but not all of them. That was a very interesting twist that stood out in a film filled with interesting and satirical twists.

In the faux documentary "CSA," we learn what the twentieth century would have been like if the South had won the Civil War. The Confederate States of America became a nation teeming with racism and misogyny.

As a Southerner, I found the film pretty offensive. It perpetuates the myth that racism is a uniquely Southern commodity and that the South is the birth place of ignorance. A Southern victory, apparently, would have permanently snuffed out any progressive movement in the United States. This would lead to wives being encouraged to let their husbands beat them and televised executions. The South's barbarism and ignorance would have overcome the goodwill and progressive impulses of the enlightened North.

I ain't buying it. It's a simplistic view of history and a damaging caricature of the South that still persists. I have been greeted by a great deal of ignorance outside of the South by folks who still believe today's South is that of "Eyes on the Prize." The LA riots, reaction to the OJ verdict, the Matthew Shepherd murder, etc. reveal that ignorance, hatred, and racism are national problems.

The movie was impressively put together, especially considering its limited budget. It's very compelling, but I found its vision of the South to be ignorant.

Read more at http://solipsisticblog.blogspot.com/.

The very fundamental premise of this mockumentary makes no sense. Anyone who knows anything about history should know that the CSA intended only to withdraw from the Union, not conquer it.

Yes, the South invaded the north in 1863, leading to the Battle of Gettysburg, but they did this only to force a cessation of hostilities. They wanted to be left alone.

I'm not trying to defend the idiots who wanted to keep the practice of slavery alive, what I'm saying is that this film is not even intelligent, much less funny. Real comedy takes kernels of truth and builds on them so that what you see ultimately in the film is both funny and cutting. Chris Rock's skit on how not to get beaten up by the police is a perfect example of this.

In terms of movies with this approach, "Borat" did a superb job of exposing real prejudices in real people in a way that was hilarious. Borat played the part of the idiot, but it was American culture which ultimately looked foolish.

Unfortunately, there is nothing funny, or intelligent, or accurate, or even worthwhile in this movie. And I think the box office numbers for this film underscores my point.

This is an extremely thought-provoking, humorous and sometimes disturbing movie. The performances of some of the actors could be better and the low budget sometimes shows through, but it is such a unique idea and the discussions it causes are so enlightening, that the filmmaker should be given an award just for bravery. I don't know what the nay-sayers were thinking when they wrote some of these comments. They must have seen a different film, this is not Saturday night live satire, it is much darker. Think Dr. Strangelove in blackface!

The fact that it is all based on real plans of the confederacy and real products that have existed in the united states makes it even more frightening. I strongly recommend it.

-Peter

A group of us had such high hopes for this movie as we stood in line at the Hamptons Film Festival....together we were a varied group....from History Teacher, Realtor, teenagers, etc......sadly such a great promises just misses .... many people felt the same way as movie goer after movie goer got up and left during the showing...what does that tell you when ever 5 minutes another couple walked out........ calling Abe Lincoln a "darky" in a silent picture??? and the angle of documentary just fell flat....oh well can't win them all....perhaps next time the directors will drop his private agenda and concentrate on making a film exciting and interesting to the viewer....the commercials thrown in were something only worthy of a SNL skit and implying slaves as property in a insurance commercial might get a cheap laugh but doesn't make this movie worth seeing....honestly my teenagers have put better commercials together in their class....really a shame...the idea was great but the movie just falls flat

In an alternate universe, Jefferson Davis became president, the Confederates won the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln was not shot and killed but becomes an escapee in blackface and dies in disgrace in Canada (not before recording his last words in 1905 -- a little anachronistic since sound in films did not occur until the 1920s), and slavery is alive and well and becoming one with technology. Subversive enough? You'll have to watch this mockumentary to believe it. Nothing is sacred here, and it works so well because it looks as if these events truly took place. It could be a documentary shown on A & E from its meticulous attention to detail to make it look authentic, and its segues into "commercial breaks" are fantastic -- you laugh, but you cringe. And this is exactly what director Kevin Willmott and producer Spike Lee want you to feel.

What if the Confederacy won the Civil War? Sounds like a interesting premise for a sharp satirical mockumentary about an alternate American history, right? Unfortunately, as promising as the concept looks on paper, in reality "CSA: The Confederate States of America" is massively disappointing and unfulfilling. I can't even call it a valiant effort hampered by some weaknesses, because that would be too generous.

In fact, throughout the entire movie, there was not one scene that elicited any kind of positive reaction from me. The movie could not even produce a single laugh or smile. Even the worst of the worst comedies ("Date Movie", "Failure to Launch", "The Benchwarmers"), as horrible as they are, were able to make me chuckle at least ONCE. One laugh: is that too much to ask?

Here I just sat there, feeling the movie literally suck the life out of me with its colossal non-entertainingness. When your mind wanders to ponder the intricacies of this year's income tax forms, you know the movie you are watching is bad, bad, bad.

C.S.A.: THE CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA is a blistering satire / nightmare vision of an alternate America, in which the south won the Civil War. Presented as a "documentary", CSA uses the same, basic structure as a Ken Burns production to great effect. The "history" is shown through "interviews" with "experts", "archival" footage, and "re-enactments".

Intentionally offensive and anything but politically correct, this movie hearkens back to the acidic humor of the NATIONAL LAMPOON magazine, during its early 1970's heyday. The main feature is interrupted by "commercials", reminiscent of films like THE KENTUCKY FRIED MOVIE, THE GROOVE TUBE, or TUNNEL VISION (also from the '70's). The products / services advertised are extremely racist by design, many being explained at the end of the film.

At once hilarious and jaw-dropping, due to its sledgehammer approach, it's obviously not meant to be taken seriously, not even remotely. In spite of this, the message is clear and direct. Recommended for lovers of controversial comedy, this movie gets extra points for audacity!...

In the vein of something like Amazon's The Man in the High Castle, this alternate-reality document no doubt is offensive yet meant to entertain the idea that our country, the USA, is bad but could have been even worse off than it has been. It is interesting to think about how history, all history, could be different.

The idea of a story set in an alternate universe where the CSA won the Civil War is very interesting to me. But this film takes the approach of a second-rate BBC-Ken Burns-knockoff TV special. As a result, I felt like I was watching a TV show rather than a movie. This movie is Tivo-worthy, but it's not that great as a stand-alone film. Still, it's more interesting and risk-taking than your average Hollywood or art-house film.

I was bored by the conceit of a PBS-type special, but the ideas behind the film were quite interesting. The commercials for various products are first-rate satire...although, sadly, they are probably too close to reality to count as satire. The film is good information for most Americans, people who never stopped to consider just whose aunt was Aunt Jemima, or whose uncle was Uncle Ben.

A cardinal sin of reviewing movies is to review a movie you wished you saw rather than the one you actually saw. Still, I would have preferred to see a movie focused on a single character or group of characters living in the CSA. This film is a little too didactic for me to enjoy. I'd say: definitely catch it on cable. If you see it in the theater, you are paying for the concept rather than the actual entertainment value.

A welcome addition to the Spike Lee family of films and the growing number of films that don't pander to the lowest common denominator for African-Americans: Daughters of the Dust/ Native Son/ Magic Love/The Spook who sat by the Door.

No stunt casting like P.Diddy in Raisin in the Sun.

The concept of alternate universe storytelling is radical for black filmmakers. That they found so much material to support the imaginary world they were creating was astonishing. My only real complaint is the level of acting on display. Some of it is passable but much of it was amateurish, community theater level. Ultimately, the audience for this film will grow over the years and will be discovered by all kinds of movie fans and film buffs.

This movie danced along the edge of impropriety, but brilliantly. The premise is good and the execution is genius. Depicting this as a standard 'Ken Burns style' documentary is the perfect way to convey the sweep of history in a short time. The interviews, voice overs, and lingering camera shots of a still photograph were all spot-on.

My favorite part was the multiple level satire of films from the early 20th century showing events from the 19th: a silent movie about Lincoln's capture, a 50s school educational film about the superiority of whites, and a Hollywood war epic about the CSA's wars in South America. Depicting the fictional events through a lens of contemporary attitudes of what would have been the 20s, 30s, 40s, and 50s... it made my head swim.

The commercials that another reviewer mentioned were humorous breaks in the action, but they didn't go much further than any normal commercial parody. The note at the end from the movie creators about the sources for some of these (I won't give it away) made me twinge with guilt for laughing, which I think is the response they wanted.

Overall, if you are a student of history, a lover of satire, a thinking person, or (god forbid) all 3 - you should see this move.

CSA begins with a quote from Shaw saying that if you are going to tell the truth, make it funny or people will kill you. CSA certainly tells a lot of truth, but it's more disturbing than funny, a mockumentary so dark and so thoughtful that it winds up being rather depressing.

This fake documentary tells the history of a United States in which the Confederate States won the Civil War and slavery continues to this day. The movie plays this as a British documentary shown on American TV and interrupted by American commercials for products with incredibly racist names, references to black people as property and even a public service commercial encouraging people to report those of suspicious racial make up.

A lot of research obviously went into this movie. As much as possible it tries to use genuine events and people from that period, and much of the early part of the movie appears to mix in a lot of historical events, sometimes only slightly twisted. At the end of the movie some of the research is shown, just to let people see how close the film is to reality.

The movie is less successful when it tries for something more elaborate than a Ken Burns collection of talking heads, pictures and documents. Recreations of movies and plays show clearly how small the budget for this film was. They also can break the mood, most notably in a Broadway musical that seems to be going for cartoonish humor in a movie that for the most part is dark satire.

The movie feels, for the most part, very real. The trajectory of history seems reasonable, and many of the commercials are pitch perfect. It can be difficult to watch such a horrible world unfold (it reminded me of times as the depressing, brilliant novel The Handmaid's Tale) but it is a movie well worth watching all the same.

A mockumentary with an alternative history twist. Great idea, but the execution was incredibly poor and lazy.

The acting was simply horrible, probably among the worst ever seen outside 50's B horror movies. I kid you not.

The pacing was awkward, if this was a real documentary, nobody would go through its painfully boring parts.

Whoever wrote this has absolutely no knowledge about history. Sure, the message is valid... but the movie doesn't seem convincing at all. A lot of the events are so poorly thought-out, they only become annoying.

All the major events in US history are there, only with a little twist, sadly, the 'twist' has no grounds in reality ( even alternative reality ).

Final verdict: 2/10, only because the idea was good.