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Retrograde (2022 American film)

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Retrograde
Theatrical release poster
Directed byMatthew Heineman
Based onFinal months of the War in Afghanistan (2001-2021)
Produced by
  • Matthew Heineman
  • Caitlin McNally
Cinematography
Edited by
  • Pablo Garza
  • Matthew Heineman
  • Grace Zahrah
Music byH. Scott Salinas
Production
companies
Distributed byPicturehouse
Release dates
  • September 3, 2022 (2022-09-03) (Telluride)
  • November 11, 2022 (2022-11-11) (United States)
Running time
96 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$8,673

Retrograde is a 2022 American documentary film directed by Matthew Heineman that covers events that took place during the final nine months of America's 20-year war in Afghanistan. It had its U.S. premiere at the Telluride Film Festival on September 3, 2022, and had its Canadian debut at the Vancouver International Film Festival on October 2, 2022. It was released in select theaters in the United States starting November 11, 2022, by National Geographic Documentary Films and Picturehouse and was later made available on various streaming platforms.

The film received critical acclaim and won an Edward R. Murrow Award, three News and Documentary Emmy Awards (from six nominations), and an award at the documentary film festival Doc NYC. Heinemann was nominated for the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentaries at the 75th Directors Guild of America Awards, and together with fellow producer Caitlin McNally, he was also nominated for the Producers Guild of America Award for Outstanding Producer of Documentary Theatrical Motion Pictures at the 34th Producers Guild of America Awards.

The film has also faced criticism for failing to adequately protect the identities of its subjects leading to the death of a protagonist.

Synopsis

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Retrograde is a 2022 American documentary film that covers events that took place during the final nine months of the United States' 20-year war in Afghanistan. The film includes actions taken by the last American Special Forces units stationed there, Sami Sadat, a young Afghan general and his troops defending their country, and a chaotic exodus of its civilians, desperate to flee a country that will once again be controlled by the Taliban.

Release

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Retrograde premiered in the United States on September 3, 2022, at the Telluride Film Festival.[1] It had its Canadian premiere at the Vancouver International Film Festival on October 2, 2022.[2]

Picturehouse released the film in select US cities on November 11 in New York City and Washington, D.C., and in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, and Colorado Springs on November 18.[3]

The film began streaming in the US on National Geographic Channel on December 8, on Disney+ on December 9, and on Hulu on December 11.[3] It was released on Disney+ (Canada) on Friday January 13, 2023.[4]

Reception

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Critical response

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Retrograde was generally well received. Nicolas Rapold writes in The New York Times, "The Taliban takeover suggests a reply to the famous 1984 National Geographic cover — as if history is repeating itself with fresh suffering."[5] In posting about the Green Beret working alongside the Afghans, Sheila O'Malley publishes for the film review site RogerEbert.com, "The intimacy between the men is one of the most striking things about Retrograde."[6] In Variety, Peter Debruge declares that the film "brings back hi-def vérité footage that looks sharper and more artfully framed than most Hollywood features."[7]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 93% of 30 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.0/10.[8] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 75 out of 100, based on 11 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[9]

Accolades

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In addition to the accolades listed below, Retrograde was one of the 15 films shortlisted for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film,[10] but was ultimately not selected as one of the five final nominees.[11][12]

Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
Critics' Choice Documentary Awards November 13, 2022 Best Political Documentary Retrograde Nominated [13]
Directors Guild of America Awards February 18, 2023 Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentaries Matthew Heineman Nominated [14]
Doc NYC November 9–27, 2022 Short List: Features – Producing Award Matthew Heineman and Caitlin McNally Won [15][16]
Edward R. Murrow Award October 9, 2023 Feature Documentary National Geographic Won [17]
Montclair Film Festival October 21–30, 2022 Bruce Sinofsky Award for Documentary Feature Retrograde Nominated [18][19]
Producers Guild of America Awards February 25, 2023 Outstanding Producer of Documentary Theatrical Motion Pictures Matthew Heineman and Caitlin McNally Nominated [20][21]
News and Documentary Emmy Awards September 28, 2023 Outstanding Current Affairs Documentary Retrograde Won [22]
Outstanding Cinematography: Documentary Won
Outstanding Direction: Documentary Nominated
Outstanding Editing: Documentary Won
Outstanding Sound Nominated
Outstanding Promotional Announcement Nominated

Criticism

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Death of Afghan Protagonist

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The film faced criticism for failing to adequately protect the identities of its subjects. The filmmakers made the decision to show close-ups of them despite warnings prior to Retrograde’s broadcast premiere. These include three active-duty U.S. military personnel and two former Green Berets who said the film will put Afghan protagonists in danger.[23]

The film has been called a "hit list" that the Taliban used to identify and punish collaborators with the United States. One of the Afghan protagonists of the film was arrested and tortured by the Taliban and later died from his injuries. The Taliban found him through the Retrograde movie.[23]

A number of its subjects are in hiding, and a minesweeper was tortured and killed in 2024. The film's creators have disputed claims that their reporting was unethical. Due to "new attention to this film", National Geographic, which produced the documentary as part of a joint agreement with Disney, announced that it had withdrawn the film, citing "an abundance of caution."[24]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "The World Premiere of Retrograde Debuting at the Telluride Film Festival". LaughingPlace. September 2, 2022. Archived from the original on December 20, 2022. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
  2. ^ "Retrograde". Vancouver International Film Festival. Archived from the original on December 20, 2022. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
  3. ^ a b Carey, Matthew (November 7, 2022). "National Geographic Drops Retrograde Trailer, Announces "Unprecedented" Release Plan for Matthew Heineman's Afghanistan Withdrawal Documentary". Deadline. Archived from the original on November 7, 2022. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  4. ^ Pearson, Emerson (January 3, 2023). "All the Disney+ Movies and Shows Coming to Canada in January 2023". Entertainment Tonight Canada. Archived from the original on January 6, 2023. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  5. ^ Rapold, Nicolas (November 10, 2022). "Retrograde Review: The U.S. Withdrawal from Afghanistan". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on December 20, 2022. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
  6. ^ O'Malley, Sheila (December 8, 2022). "Reviews: Retrograde". RogerEbert.com. Archived from the original on December 19, 2022. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
  7. ^ Debruge, Peter (September 8, 2022). "Retrograde Review: Matthew Heineman Risks his Neck to Record America's Exit from Afghanistan". Variety. Archived from the original on December 20, 2022. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
  8. ^ "Retrograde". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Archived from the original on December 25, 2022. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
  9. ^ "Retrograde". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Archived from the original on December 20, 2022. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
  10. ^ Hammond, Pete (December 21, 2022). "Oscar Shortlists Released in 10 Categories: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, All Quiet On The Western Front Top Mentions". Collider. Archived from the original on December 21, 2022. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  11. ^ Lang, Brent; Moreau, Jordan (January 24, 2023). "Oscar Nominations 2023: Everything Everywhere Leads with 11 Nods, Followed by Banshees and All Quiet". Variety. Archived from the original on February 18, 2023. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  12. ^ Lewis, Hilary (January 24, 2023). "Oscar Nominations: Viola Davis, Taylor Swift Snubbed as Brian Tyree Henry Surprises". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on February 18, 2023. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  13. ^ Zilko, Christian (November 14, 2022). "Good Night Oppy, Get Back Dominate Critics Choice Documentary Awards". IndieWire. Archived from the original on December 9, 2022. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  14. ^ Verhoeven, Beatrice; Chuba, Kirsten (February 18, 2023). "DGA Awards: Daniel Scheinert and Daniel Kwan Take Top Honor for Everything Everywhere All at Once". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on February 19, 2023. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  15. ^ "2022 Award Winners". Doc NYC. Archived from the original on November 23, 2022. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  16. ^ Thompson, Anne (October 18, 2022). "DOC NYC Reveals Influential Awards Short List, from All That Breathes to All the Beauty and the Bloodshed". IndieWire. Archived from the original on December 8, 2022. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  17. ^ "Edward R. Murrow Awards 2023 – National Winners". Radio Television Digital News Association. Archived from the original on August 15, 2023. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
  18. ^ "2022 Montclair Film Festival Award Winners Announced!". Montclair Film Festival. Archived from the original on December 9, 2022. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  19. ^ White, Abbey (September 23, 2022). "Montclair Film Festival Announces She Said as 2022 Closing Night Film, The Good Nurse and The Whale Screenings". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on October 5, 2022. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  20. ^ "Producers Guild of America Awards Celebrates Everything Everywhere All At Once, White Lotus, The Bear, Navalny & more with Top Honors" (Press release). Los Angeles: Producers Guild of America. February 25, 2023. Retrieved March 2, 2023.
  21. ^ Carey, Matthew (December 12, 2022). "PGA Awards Documentary Nominations Bring Shocks and Surprises: Nothing Compares In, All The Beauty And The Bloodshed Out". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on January 28, 2023. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  22. ^ Schneider, Michael (September 27, 2023). "News & Documentary Emmys 2023: Full Winners List". Variety. Archived from the original on September 17, 2024. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
  23. ^ a b "A Taliban revenge killing prompts questions, removal of an acclaimed documentary". Washington Post. May 23, 2024. Retrieved October 17, 2024.
  24. ^ Simons, Raoul (May 23, 2024). "Afghan mine-clearer killed by Taliban after it sees him in Emmy-winning film". Yahoo News. Retrieved May 25, 2024.

Further reading

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