Redacted (2007)

Director:

Brian De Palma

Writer:

Brian De Palma (written by)

Release Date:

16 November 2007 (Spain)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | War

Tagline:

Truth is the first casualty of war.

Plot:

A montage of stories about U.S. soldiers fighting in the Iraq conflict, focusing on the modern forms of media covering the war.

Plot Keywords:

Iraq | Soldier | Controversy | Bare Chested Male | News Report

Awards:

3 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Izzy Diaz	...	Angel Salazar
Rob Devaney	...	Lawyer McCoy
Ty Jones	...	Master Sergeant Sweet
Anas Wellman	...	Soldier (as Anas 'Tipsy' Wellman)
Mike Figueroa	...	Sergeant Jim Vasquez
Yanal Kassay	...	Soldier
Dhiaa Khalil	...	Soldier
Kel O'Neill	...	Gabe Blix / al Investigation Agent #2
Daniel Stewart Sherman	...	B.B. Rush
Patrick Carroll	...	Reno Flake
Qazi Freihat	...	Hadi
Adel Odai	...	Interpreter
Helen Zamel	...	Date Girl
Hiyam Abdel Karim	...	Pregnant Woman
Issam Shamary	...	Pregnant Woman's Brother

MPAA:

Rated R for strong disturbing violent content including a rape, pervasive language and some sexual references/images.

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA | Canada

Language:

English | French | Arabic | German

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | Portugal:M/16 | Ireland:16 | Sweden:15 | Ireland:15 (video rating) | UK:15 | Netherlands:16 | Japan:R-15 | Singapore:M18 | Australia:MA (2008) | Germany:18 | New Zealand:R16 | France:-12

Filming Locations:

Amman, Jordan

Company:

Film Farm, The

Trivia:

Magnolia Films requested that Brian De Palma blacked out the faces of dead Iraqis in the disturbing photo montage at the end of the film. It was feared that families of the dead could sue.

Goofs:

Factual errors: At the military checkpoint scene, U.S. Army soldiers are seen with a Challenger tank. The U.S. Army does not use the Challenger tank.

Movie Connections:

References The Wild Bunch (1969)

Soundtrack:

E luceran le stelle (Tosca/Act 3)

Excessive, unfinished, manipulative - but not nearly as bad as others say

Despite the many criticisms by others on this site, Redacted is a compelling film based on an actual incident that occurred in Baghdad in 2006. Yes, the acting leaves something to be desired, the 'mixed-media' approach is distracting, and there are some manipulative moments (the beheading, the final still); But this is still an eye-opening film on the state of events in Iraq and the trials that *both* Iraqis and Americans have to deal with daily. The scenes at the checkpoint are particularly well done. Some of the dialog between the soldiers in the unit is compelling in its own way; Similarly so the scenes with the Iraqi reporters and 'embeds.'

I've seen all the recent films about Iraq ('Valley of Elah', 'Lions for Lambs', 'Rendition' ) and think that 'Redacted' provides insights none of the others do. In particular, it does an excellent job illustrating the clash between the respective cultures of Iraq and America. (50% of Iraqis can't read the signs at US checkpoints!)

Is this film a bit of an unholy mess? Yes, but see it anyway and make your own mind up. I think this one deserves at least a 6 out of 10.