Reenactments Done Right

Having spent years working on historical documentaries for The History Channel and various museums, I became an expert in the creation of low budget reenactments that would form the basis for narrated stories of Revolutionary War battles and Civil War prison camps. These projects taught me how to make fake blood out of just about anything, stuff myself into a uniform when not enough reenactors showed up to fill out our crowd scene and aim a muzzle-loader like I actually was going to shoot someone. They also showed me how much room there is for creativity outside of the cookie-cutter marching and firing we were doing.

The use of reenactment is ongoing issue among documentary filmmakers - how to use them, when they're appropriate (scream the purists, "never!"), and how to differentiate them from authentic footage or photos. Documentary filmmaker Errol Morris, writing for the New York Times, did an excellent job of describing how he justifies the use of reenactment in his films. Many would argue that a story that has no existing visuals doesn't actually lend itself to filmmaking - that it should remain in the world of print. This seems unnecessarily limiting, and instead of hard and fast rules about the use of reenactment, I think our filmmaking focus should be on making reenactments BETTER. They're frequently a necessary part of filmic storytelling, so the challenge is to present them in a creative way that presents no confusion for the viewer about what is real and what isn't.

A fine example of this art can be found in Wisconsin Death Trip, a 1999 film based on Michael Lesy's book of the same name. The film's narration is scripted entirely from 19th century reports from the Black River Falls, WI newspaper with occasional excerpts from the records of the nearby Mendota Asylum for the Insane. To illustrate these macabre, lonely and sometimes humorous accounts, Writer/Director James Marsh used elaborate and lovely reenactments that are some of the best I've seen. Intermixed with these reenactments are historic 19th century photographs taken in the area, though the viewer is never confused (or, I'd argue, concerned with) what is authentic and what is reenactment.

Take a look at the 10 minute excerpt below to see for yourself.