THE FILM
TITLE: Red, White and Blue
RELEASE DATE: 15 Oct 2023
WATCH DATE: 07 Feb 2024
TYPE: live-action short film
ACCESS: rent for $1.99
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THE PEOPLE
DIRECTOR: Nazrin Choudhury
PRODUCER: Nazrin Choudhury, Sara McFarlane, Madelyn Shaffer
ACTORS: Brittany Snow, Juliet Donenfeld
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THE STORY
RUNTIME: 24min
STORYLINE: a single mother is driven across state lines for an abortion
GENRE/THEMES: drama, family struggles, abortion, political
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THE CRITIQUE
THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS
I WILL GO THROUGH THE ENTIRE PLOT.
PLEASE GO WATCH THIS SHORT FILM BEFORE READING.
YOU CAN RENT RED, WHITE AND BLUE FOR $1.99 HERE.
A single mother. Two kids. Working in a diner. Stretching to make ends meet. And an unexpected pregnancy. This film is a statement. Responding to the overturn of Roe vs. Wade (Jun 2022), this story forces us to consider impossible situations. What do you do now? This story, no doubt, is more than likely someone’s story out there.
A shot of her budget shows us money is tight. She fetches hidden cash from a book in the bookshelf. It still doesn’t add up to what she needs. She cannot have this baby. Being a Christian believer and pro-life, I’m conflicted at this point. She shouldn’t have put herself in the position to risk becoming pregnant…
Kindness comes to her from a generous patron at the diner - “You don’t want to keep it do you?”. The single mother is speechless as hundreds of dollars in cash is slipped to her. “Keep the change.” She has enough now but must drive across state lines to find a clinic. A friend watches her younger son, saying, “I wish I could take both of them.” So her daughter has to come with her. The little road trip is a bonding experience for them. They have a great time. How could she take her child with her on this trip? I think…
It’s late and the clinic is crowded. We see many other women here, all searching for the same procedure. A waitlist is the best the nurse can do - “Birthdate?” … this is the moment we understand. The abortion is for her ten-year-old daughter. Flashbacks. Coming home to police swarming her apartment. Yellow tape. Crime-scene. A woman talking to her daughter, who sits on the bed. Someone broke into her apartment and raped her daughter. Shock and horror rip across my face as I understand the impossible situation…
Red, White and Blue is the response to that question… what do I do now? What about this? It presents a massive challenge to the argument of abortion. All I can say… is there can’t be a right or wrong answer here. This is a powerful example of choosing the lesser of two great evils. And nobody should blame this mother for taking care of her daughter.
The plot is brilliantly presented with red herrings scattered throughout. The first shot is the single mother exiting the bathroom holding the pregnancy stick. In an early scene, another patron reaches down to touch her rear end as she walks past, hinting that she might be promiscuous. She stutters, speechless, caught off guard by the generous patron who gives her cash. Her friend’s statement hints that she was asked to watch both kids. And to top it off, her daughter is only ten years old, so we don’t even consider the abortion to be for her. For 15 minutes, you wonder… where is this story going? What are they trying to say? The well-crafted reveal dissolves those questions instantly.
One should leave the experience with the understanding and shock. This is someone’s story. And the correct response is compassion, not judgment. What would you do, if you were in their shoes?
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THE RECEPTION
NOMINATIONS
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THE IMPRESSION
IN A SINGLE WORD: shocking
MOST STRIKING ELEMENT: political statement
REWATCH: yes (for the sake of showing it to others)
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