 Redacted is the latest albeit controversial gore fest by Brian De Palma. Plot line in one sentence or less? Group of American soldiers who rape and murder an Iraqi teenager as well as killing her family. Sensitive topic on so many levels. Now that basic introductions are over, first things first. What is this blog not about? a) Brian de Palma's tiff with his distributor as revealed at a conference b) The controversial content of the movie itself c) Justification about or ranting against the theme of movie  Rather than all those overkill topics, let's focus on his style of movie making in this particular instance. Brian De Palma's Redacted uses an interesting method of storytelling, one which will hopefully be incorporated into other movies. As one review kindly elaborates, The writer-director strays from his typically stylized aesthetic with this stripped-down pastiche of fake footage: a soldier's hand-held video diary, a French duo's sepia-toned documentary, TV news pieces and online video from both a terrorist Web site and the blog of an Army man's wife. Once again this is not about real life content, taking real life war images or information about war or violence or anything that is borderline rant worthy. This is about expanding movie making horizons.  Just what is so fascinating about this method? Aye for New Media I'll admit it. The fact that Brian De Palma borrowed ideas from internet and blogs and compiled them all into the creative collage that ultimately became his bullet riddled movie is interesting. Not the target practice bit but the bit about the collage. Think of the possibilities for movie making with this method. Sure, most Hollywood blockbuster movies depict new media in movies. It just seems to be pigeonholed into teenage slasher flicks (woman in a bikini who gets stabbed in the end seems to be a prerequisite) and gory horror / thriller movies where some weird stalker tracks down a poor unsuspecting woman and stabs her multiple times ( as it turns out this only seems to happen while she is in the skimpiest of clothes ).  Why not take note from De Palma and widen your lasso over new media portrayal? Think of the possibilities ... Who knows what ideas, material, talent, subject matter or stories you'll find there online. How can you build into something bigger, from where he has taken off? On this note, check out Space Coyote, a digital artist who made a fan pic of Simpsons and has now been contacted by Matt Groening and Fox with offers, all of which possibly online work!  The role of new media in modern society is a big deal; the WGA is striking about this very point, aren't they? Maybe it's about time it became a part of Hollywood movies as well! Exploring the Lurking Depths of Creativity Plots lines can get dull and repetitive if you follow one formulae for too long. And that's why De Palma's style is refreshing. Using a mesh of different media, storytelling can just go wild. For all those kindred souls out there who hate flashbacks as much as I do, this method might be the flashback salvation. And playing around with different timelines now becomes easier; the flitting back and forth between past and present has its moments, but it gets lame when everyone starts doing it the same way. Take pity on the audience; use a grainy video blog to show someone in his hey day and spare the painful attempts to adorn a 40 year old man in wig and matted make up. Who knows Brian De Palma's Redacted will fare; on the one hand, controversy is the golden word for more publicity. But given the touchy topic within the movie ( not to mention bad reviews of the movie itself ), the movie may be more frantic talk on all sides than actual box office gold. On the other hand, if you take into account the Academy Awards secret love for movies with war-themed movies ( The Killing Fields, Deer Hunter, Saving Private Ryan, Thin Red Line .... the list goes on and on), perhaps it is the norm for every Oscar loving director to weave their stories around war. Note: Space Coyote's site |
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