C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America (2004)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Kevin Willmott

Writer:

Kevin Willmott (writer)

Release Date:

24 June 2005 (Spain)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

What if the South had won the War?

Plot:

Through the eyes of a british "documentary", this film takes a satirically humorous, and sometimes frightening, look at the history of an America where the South won the Civil War.

Plot Keywords:

American Civil War | Civil War | Fake Documentary | What If | Journalist

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Greg Kirsch	...	Confederate Family Dad
Renee Patrick	...	Confederate Family Mom
Molly Graham	...	Confederate Family Child
William Willmott	...	Confederate Family Slave / Frederick Douglas (voice) (as Will Willmott)
Rupert Pate	...	Sherman Hoyle
Evamarii Johnson	...	Patricia Johnson
Greg Hurd	...	Mr. Johnson
Ryan L. Carroll	...	Bobby
Don Carlton	...	Colonel Bloodhound
Kevin McKinney	...	Blackface Abraham Lincoln
Will Averill	...	Blackface Harriet Tubman
Arlo Kasper	...	Old Abraham Lincoln
Joe Bugni	...	Car Guy No. 1
Troy Moore	...	Car Guy No. 2
Jennifer Coville	...	Daisie

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color | Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

USA:Unrated | USA:TV-MA (cable rating) | UK:12A

Filming Locations:

Lawrence, Kansas, USA

Company:

Hodcarrier Films

Trivia:

A majority of the racist products featured in the film's fake commercials are real racist products from American history.

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: Since this film deals with an alternate history which diverged from our timeline in 1863, all so-called anachronisms and factual errors dealing with events from that point on should be regarded as plot holes at best, and redundant at least.

Quotes:

[first lines]
[commercial for Confederate Family Insurance]
Confederate Family Insurance Speaker: A man fills many roles in his lifetime: provider, protector, master of the house. As a father you have a vital role in your family's life. They depend on you to be there. We help to make sure you can fulfill that promise, because
[pause]
Confederate Family Insurance Speaker: no matter what they call you
[pause]
Confederate Family Insurance Speaker: at the end of the day
[pause]
Confederate Family Insurance Speaker: you know you're just
[pause]
[...]

Movie Connections:

Spoofs The Birth of a Nation (1915)

Interesting viewpoint

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.