Synopsis
Charles, is an endearing African-American retired policeman who, through his love of models, discovers reenacting and uses it to alleviate his job-related PTSD.
Edward is a quintessential Southern history addict with a passion for military minutae. He’s collected an extravagant, almost absurd, amount of uniforms, weapons, and models.
Brad and Kami are a married couple who portray Nazis and weakly attempt to justify their choice of roles. As reenactors, they attempt to engage spectators in empathising with the German perspective on the war. When they encounter Stacy and Marisha, conflicts arise.
Stacy and Marisha portray themselves as aggressive female photographers in entering the world of the reenactors, and especially that of the Nazis. Flaunting both their cameras and their desire to capture their subjects. During reenactments, Stacy portrays Leni Reifenstahl, an odd choice given her Jewish heritage.
The resistance they encounter contrasts with Gendron’s own photographer persona, one that benefits from his subjects’ greater acceptance of a male gaze, and from Gendron’s unassuming style when modestly securing intimate images and confessions from reenactors.
Edward is a quintessential Southern history addict with a passion for military minutae. He’s collected an extravagant, almost absurd, amount of uniforms, weapons, and models.
Brad and Kami are a married couple who portray Nazis and weakly attempt to justify their choice of roles. As reenactors, they attempt to engage spectators in empathising with the German perspective on the war. When they encounter Stacy and Marisha, conflicts arise.
Stacy and Marisha portray themselves as aggressive female photographers in entering the world of the reenactors, and especially that of the Nazis. Flaunting both their cameras and their desire to capture their subjects. During reenactments, Stacy portrays Leni Reifenstahl, an odd choice given her Jewish heritage.
The resistance they encounter contrasts with Gendron’s own photographer persona, one that benefits from his subjects’ greater acceptance of a male gaze, and from Gendron’s unassuming style when modestly securing intimate images and confessions from reenactors.
Playing Soldier 1080P widescreen
If you were the star of your own film, with history as your script, who would you play? What character would you be? PLAYING SOLDIER follows the intersecting lives of World War II reenactors who claim that “history is a personal thing”. PLAYING SOLDIER follows the intersecting stories of six reenactors who come from very different backgrounds and with conflicting motivations. It also shows how, through reenacting, the stories that people tell are as much or more about themselves as they are about history.
Directed by Ed Gendron Music by David Franusich