THE BATTLE OF PUSSY WILLOW CREEK: Wendy Jo Cohen's mockdoc does Civil War, Gays, Blacks, Asians and women up proud

So where were all the "others" during our much-vaunted, -heralded, -written-and-filmed-about Civil War? Over the past 12 months alone, we've seen Lincoln, Saving Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter, and Abraham Lincoln vs. Zombies hit theaters (or in the case of that last one, DVD). Hell, these films even manage to include fantasy/horror elements like vamps & zombs before dealing with the contribution of the GLBT community, Asians, Blacks and Women Warriors to the cause of saving our great Union and thus America itself. Well, folk, this great wrong has now been righted by the new and awfully endearing mockumentary THE BATTLE OF PUSSY WILLOW CREEK, from first-time, full-length-film filmmaker Wendy Jo Cohen, pictured below, who is much better known as a producer.

No less a documentary filmmaker than Ken Burns is on record as loving this movie, and it's easy to see why. Not only does it send up oh-so-sweetly and gently, the kind of documentary that Burns specializes in, it does this with the sort of skill and stealth humor that has you believing (almost) what you're hearing one minute and then suddenly guffawing the next. If you did not already know that this was a mockumentary, I am not sure you wouldn't watch most of it in a state of blithe, if a little uncertain, credulity. This is thanks to the film's writer/director and her ability to parrot so spectacularly well the kind of talking-heads-cum-historical-photographs documentary we've seen so much of over the past couple of decades (with which Mr. Burns has so often graced us).

Ms Cohen is spot-on in her use of these "talking" heads (above and below), often accompanied by heavily in-motion bodies, and in her and her cinematographers' ability to create ancient-looking photos that are probably composites and/or who knows what else.

There is quite a bit of fun to be had, too, in her decision to give us the story of all these outsiders -- star-crossed gay military men (above and a below)...

a China-man divided between the practice of military art and laundry (below)...

a simply fabulous tale of a Black man (below) totally unaware of slavery and his own state of being, who ends up bizarrely serving the cause...

and a dear female child (below) who goes, Dickens-like, from poverty to orphan to prostitute to cross-dresser to one-armed vigilante in search of her nasty pimp. Oh, the woe!

And the fun! These tales are told us by "experts" who often disagree, making the information we learn all the more enchantingly screwy. So, is there a downside to all this? Yes, but it's not a deal-breaker. The movie has even more in common with the work of Mr. Burns: It's too long. Not by all that much, but clipped judiciously of 10 minutes, it would have been absolutely aces, I suspect.

As it is, it is still a lot of good fun. Particularly for mockumentary fans, and especially for those "others" who themselves reside (or have had progenitors) in any of the aforementioned camps. It is also a prime choice for those who know and love these historical documentaries and don't mind a little fun being made at the docs' expense. God knows, if Mr. Burns can love this one, you all should be able to, as well.

The Battle of Pussy Willow Creek (running 96 minutes, in black-and-white and color) opens tomorrow -- Friday, March 1 -- in New York City exclusively at the Quad Cinema. I would hope it will play other cities soon. If so (or if not), it will certainly make its way to DVD, VOD and streaming eventually.