Review of 12 Years a Slave (2013) by Alejandro R — 24 Sep 2016

A film as powerful, gripping and heart-wrenching as it is vitally important due to its telling of a very dark foundational piece of American history. Then add to that the fact that it's based on actual events of a kidnapped free man of the north taken from his wife and children to be enslaved in the south for 12 years. As if the general injustice of slavery were not enough, legally declared free people were also kidnapped to be enslaved. The actual historical figure who wrote the original 1853 book "12 Years A Slave" was one of the few who made it out and so lived to tell the tale-and tell the tale he did! It was also fortunate that he was educated and so was able to write about the atrocities he witnessed and was on the receiving end of himself.

Brilliant work on the part of up and coming director Steve McQueen III, as well as great performances from Fassbender, Lupita and others. Kudos to Brad Pitt for producing this amazing film, even if his brief performance in it was not so great.

This is just amazing film making!