About 10 people walked out of this afternoon’s Telluride screening of Brian DePalma’s Redacted, most during a horrific rape scene right in the center of the picture. The bulk of those who stayed gave the HD dramatization of the real-life rape and murder of a 15 year old Iraqi girl by US soldiers an overwhelmingly positive reception.

DePalma, who is currently in Venice, participated via video chat in an after-screening Q & A that danced dangerously close to DePalma hagiography from the outset. Moderator Larry Gross (amazingly, the screenwriter of both 48 Hours and We Don’t Live Here Anymore) set the tone with his introductory statement, directed at DePalma: “Thank you for making this film, which seems like a real act of moral integrity on your part.”

That kind of language would have drawn a eye roll from me even if I agreed with Gross’ assessment of Redacted’s moral pedigree. It’s hard not to be cynical about a fictional film based on real-life events, made by a brand-name director, shot with documentary and “amateur” methods as a model but saddled with that famous filmmaker’s self-serving ideological assumptions about the military and the war. But on some level, it almost doesn’t seem to count as a “movie” at all. It’s more of a narrative aggregation of pre-existing elements aimed at serving the purpose of a singular ideology. Or, in two words: opportunistic propaganda.

Which is too bad, because conceptually, it’s a fascinating project.

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