Review of 12 Years a Slave (2013) by Samuel H — 11 Sep 2014

By far the best movie of the year, "12 Years a Slave" accurately portrays the cruelty of slavery better than any movie I have seen. Emotions run high as you are carried on this journey with Solomon.

One of the beauties of this picture is found in the short pauses in which the director shows just the face of Solomon with no dialogue. It allows for you to stop and think about what is going on and to put yourself in Solomon's shoes.

It also, forces you to be in the moment, to hear the cicadas around you and feel the slow hot southern wind. He makes you become a part of the atmosphere. McQueen, shows how not all slave owners were pigs, that many of them were good guys in bad circumstances.

This is even stated by Solomon himself. He also showed, however, that there was nothing that was ever humane about slavery. As each scene builds, so builds your angst. Your anger, sorrow and fury become so strong you want to reach out and strangle the slave owner yourself you want to cry at the injustice that is occurring to humans, you want to scream "IT'S NOT FAIR.

" And yet, there is nothing you can do. The film ends with you still in this emotional state were you understand: There is no happy ending. The film does not pretend to offer any sort of solution or press you towards some cause.

Rather it attempts to portray the realities of history so that you might better understand your blessings. "12 Years a Slave" is a masterpiece of modern cinema.