Emancipation, on Apple TV+

Suddenly, the Formalism school of criticism doesn’t look so bad to Apple. Adherents of that critical theory focused exclusively on the work itself, rather than the psychological and biographical particulars of the writer. Of course, Apple TV has largely fostered a different approach, producing work like Roar and Gutsy, whose entire reason for being is their status as women-created series. Now, they are releasing a $130 million acquisition, starring Will Smith, post-slap, hoping audiences will just focus on the work itself. There is indeed some notable on-screen drama, but it is hard to ignore the odd off-screen circumstances surrounding Antoine Fuqua’s Emancipation when it premieres tomorrow on Apple TV+.

Peter is a slave in Louisiana who would eventually be immortalized in the photo “Whipped Peter” or “Scourged Back,” which rallied the North and the rest of the world against slavery. As the film opens, the Confederate Army is about to “nationalize” Peter, to bolster the war effort. Unfortunately, that means he will be separated from his family, who remain at Captain John Lyons’ plantation.

The irony of his position, now toiling to preserve his own enslavement, is not lost on Peter. He also seethes under the lash of Jim Fassel, the brutal slave-driver, overseeing the construction of a Confederate artillery embankment. Therefore, when Peter hears of Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, he decides to make a break for Baton Rouge, where Grant’s Army is encamped. However, getting there through the swamp will be grueling, especially with Fassel on his trail.

The truth is, Emancipation is more of a manhunt-style action film than a serious issue-oriented awards-bait film, which is perfectly fine. In fact, that definitely plays to Fuqua’s strengths as a filmmaker. Nevertheless, for a new Will Smith film, it has had an eerily quiet release, for obvious reasons. Eventually, there will probably be books written about the behind-the-scenes dramas. There is no getting around Smith, but plenty of websites claim Timothy Hutton plays “Senator John Lyons,” but you won’t see the actor (who has faced criminal accusations that have not as yet led to formal charges) in the film or its closing credits.

Refocusing again on the film as it is, Smith contributes a very good, very physical performance. He really transforms himself to look weathered, battered, and aged well-beyond his years. However, he only has one really Oscar-friendly speech in the entire film. That is far from a bad thing, because it means the two-hour-plus film moves along at a good clip.

Ben Foster is again suitably creepy as the virulently racist Fassel. Mostly, he is just a nasty villain, but Foster has a key monologue that illustrates how slavery poisoned him during his innocence youth, which echoes Abolitionist arguments of the time, regarding the corrupting influence slavery had on whites as well.

Foxhole, 5 Soldiers, 3 Wars

The hardware and uniforms change, but the fog of war remains. This film also suggests the young people asks to fight wars are in many ways quite similar—identical in fact. The same cast plays out life-and-death encounters from the Civil War, WWI and Iraq Wars during Jack Fessenden’s Foxhole, which opens tomorrow in New York.

Jackson is a Buffalo Soldier who basically crashed a small Union company’s foxhole, after a Confederate officer wounded him, perhaps mortally. Conrad and old grizzled Wilson believe some of the men should carry him to the distant field hospital, but Clark (presumably hailing from border state hill country) argues Jackson would probably die on the journey and the medics maybe wouldn’t take him anyway.

There is a similar ethical dilemma for the company when then film advances to WWI. They have captured a German soldier in their trench at an inconvenient time, so their sergeant wants to kill him and be done with it. Again, Wilson objects and so does Jackson, a soldier from a black regiment, who is somewhat more readily accepted by the white doughboys.

Easily, the best of the three stories is the conclusion in Iraq—but at least a country mile. By now, Jackson is the leader of the squad. There is no internal dissension within the group and they will face no ethical dilemmas. Instead, they will merely try to survive, without leaving any men behind (including Gale, a new addition to the platoon), when they are separated from their convoy and ambushed by insurgents with an RPG launcher.

Of the three installments, the dialogue of the Iraq section sounds the most like the military talk I’ve heard (from family). It also forgoes the anti-war moralizing, instead portraying the courage and camaraderie of the U.S. military. It actually makes Foxhole more effective as anti-war critique, because it shows two sides to the combat experience (and the dangers and difficulties they entail), while inviting sympathy for the men and women in uniform.

It is also the tensest and most skillfully executed. In this case, the definition of foxhole is expanded to include the Humvee the soldiers are dug into. Fessenden (son of Larry, on-board as a producer) uses the blinding sand to narrow the audience’s field of vision, creating an uneasy feeling that a fatal shot could come from anywhere, at any time.

NYJFF ’11: Jewish Soldiers in Blue and Gray

Judah P. Benjamin was the first Jewish cabinet officer in North America. He served as Secretary of State for the C.S.A. The historical irony is obvious. In fact, Jewish Americans willingly enlisted on both sides of the Civil War at disproportionally high rates, yet their service remains largely overlooked. Intended to rectify Civil War historians’ unfortunate slights, Jonathan Gruber’s documentary Jewish Soldiers in Blue & Gray compellingly surveys Jewish participation in the Civil War. Produced in time for the war’s sesquicentennial, it screens next Tuesday and Wednesday as part of the 2011 New York Jewish Film Festival.

Benjamin was not the only Jewish Confederate. Though it clearly discomforts several of the contemporary Jewish historians interviewed throughout Soldiers, many Jewish Americans so appreciated the welcoming home they found in the Old South, the rushed to take arms on her behalf, despite the significance of slavery within their religious faith. Likewise, Jewish Northerners also readily volunteered as an unambiguous act of patriotism, while embracing abolitionism with a special import as the descendants of the slaves of Exodus.

More than simply dressing up historical footnotes, the film identifies several instances of battle-turning valor, leading to five Congressional Medals of Honor for Jewish soldiers, a wholly remarkable total given the relative overall size of the Jewish-American population. Yet, perhaps the most unfairly ignored historical figure receiving his just due in Soldiers is that of Isachar Zacharie, Lincoln’s self-taught podiatrist, who served the president as a spy and a diplomatic envoy to the Confederate States.

Frankly, Soldiers might challenge some pre-conceived notions, essentially implying the Confederate Army was somewhat more congenial to Jewish serviceman than the Union forces. Still, it singles out one Northerner who overturned injustice for Jewish Americans whenever he confronted it. That man was indeed Abraham Lincoln.

Though Soldiers definitely looks ready-made for cable or PBS broadcast, it is legitimately educational. It also boasts some notable talent in the audio-booth, with Oscar-nominated screenwriter-director John Milius providing the authoritative narration and Sam Waterston giving voice to Pres. Lincoln.

It sounds like a tall order, but Soldiers should manage to increase most viewers’ appreciation of Lincoln. It definitely seems to have been produced from the perspective that America is place where justice and tolerance ultimately triumph, albeit at a tremendous price in this case. Well paced and informative, it screens this coming Tuesday (1/18) and Wednesday (1/19) with a special panel discussion scheduled to follow the latter night.