In “Red, White & Blue,” Brittany Snow plays a single mother who can't afford an abortion.Image: IMDB
review
This short film will not only break your heart, it'll make you angry: Red, White & Blue shows why “my body, my choice” matters so much.
With Trump re-elected, the issues of health care and safe abortion are once again in the spotlight.
That’s what the Oscar-nominated short film Red, White & Blue is about — even if the film isn’t political in any way. Rachel (Brittany Snow) is a single mother of two struggling to make enough money at a restaurant. When an unwanted pregnancy worsens her already precarious situation, she's forced to cross state lines to get an abortion—with little to no money.
For a film that's less than 23 minutes long, events unfold rather slowly. As viewers, we follow Rachel for a long time as she attempts to raise money for the abortion. According to Planned Parenthood, an abortion can cost up to $2,000 (as of 2022)—and that's not just the amount of money Rachel has stashed away in her savings account. Instead: She must collect every penny in the apartment (even if it means raiding her son's piggy bank) and even consider selling her jewelry.
Rachel represents the one in a million American women who choose to have an abortion.Image: IMDB
“Red, White and Blue” shows the reality for many women in America. Researchers say 1,026,700 abortions were performed in 2023 despite abortion being banned in more than a dozen states. This is the highest number in more than a decade.
However, abortions occurring outside the formal health system are not considered here. In other words, someone gets abortion pills from a friend or a pharmacy in Mexico. One can only speculate on the number of unreported cases.
Although the film deals with a political topic, “Red, White and Blue” is primarily about the emotional and human side. It's easy to believe that there really is a mother like this in America who is struggling with the exact same problem. Yet the political message is clear.
Things get really dramatic in the second half of the movie and as a viewer you realize the gravity of Rachel's decision. It's one of those moments in the movie that makes your skin crawl and put your hands over your mouth.
From the outside, it’s hard to believe that anyone would want to deny women and girls their right to safe medical abortion. It's hard to imagine what would have happened if Rachel hadn't been exposed to this program.
Red, White, and Blue provides a powerful, unflinching, and disturbing look at the people directly affected by current legislation in the United States.
The entire short film is currently available to watch for free on YouTube.
If you have 20 minutes, you can watch the entire movie here:
More information about movies and series:
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