You see movies all the time that are controlled by the flashbacks that show events not seen in the movie to explain the plot. But it is extremely unusual to have a flashback of someone actually having a flashback which is shown at least 10 times during this film. When i first witnessed the horror that was Strike the Tent, i was looking for a good film to watch with my friend, but what we got made a fourth grade spelling bee on film look exciting. From the costumes to the extremely bad dialoge, this movie just plain sucked. The only thing that kept me from throwing this disc into the fireplace was that it was funny beyond belief. There were no southern accents, and the soundtrack made me constipated. The one believable character had three lines and was a 70's comedy actor, but all in all, this movie made me watching my lame Cousins Barbe movies look like a life saving activity. Save yourself from this atrocity and if you can write your local critic and tell them of this bag-o-crap from a long line of bad Thinkfilm pictures.

Very well done, especially considering the budget. I liked the independent, realistic feel to it, vs manufactured or contrived Hollywoodism.I read somewhere a reviewer saying that this was "revisionist history" wrt this movie's depiction of how the slave owners treated their slaves so nicely. Absolutely untrue... there really wasn't that much depiction of slave owners with slaves to begin with, and to see one white gentleman actually talk nicely to a few slaves was totally believable.That same reviewer also said this movie was about "nostalgia" for the pre-war south. But I think it was more about southerners protecting their tradition, and then finally knowing when to surrender (hence the title "Strike the Tent"). Otoh, the extra featurette on the DVD about how the film was conceived did show that Julian's intention was to proudly depict his much beloved, land-owning family history.The film depicts pre-war southern life favorably, yet doesn't demonize the north (much), even after it's clear that the south had lost the war and had to free their slaves. It was a good depiction of one side "protecting their own", but pretty much intentionally blind to the issue of slavery itself. An interesting "real life" depiction of real history--at least from a southern, white-man's point of view.

The Last Confederate is a dull, uninspiring spin off of the Robert Adams story. Nothing in this movie impressed me. The acting was atrocious. There was not one believable character in the film. It just didn't seem authentic and the cinematography was amateur at best. It reminded me of a late night movie that would come on the lifetime channel. The production values are low and there is hardly any action . If you are expecting a hardcore war movie, look elsewhere because this feels more like a lousy romance novel. After watching Seraphim Falls with Pierce Bronson, a hardboiled western set after the civil war, you can tell the difference in the quality of direction and writing, and it was just so much more fast paced. Leave this one on the shelf.

I thought it was a well scripted, well shot, well acted movie. This movie is an independent and low budget movie, but you won't notice. It takes place during the Civil War, but it's more than just that. It's the story of a guy fighting for what he believes in and who he loves. The story starts out before the Civil War and progresses through out the war, to the end of the war when he comes home. It is more than just a story of the Civil War but what happened to people during the war. This story is taken from the letters and diaries of the people portrayed in the movie. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. This movie was a labor of love for the producers and the whole crew and it shows through on the film.