Review of Amistad (1997) by Eric M — 15 Apr 2016
"Amistad" has a compelling and important story to tell, and with Spielberg at the helm it shows glimpses of being something truly special, but Spielberg indulges in a few too many Spielberg-isms in in creative ways, and the story is somewhat preached to the audience rather than shown.
When it is shone though, as in most all of the sequences onboard the slaving vessels and directly involving the captured African slaves, but the courtroom drama, while getting off to an engaging start, grinds to a halt in the final act.
Almost every scene is treated as climactic, with swelling strings and speechifying on the positions of historical figures. There are beautiful and haunting moments scattered throughout (Gustav Dore's illustrations for the Bible inspiring the slaves a particularly moving one) but this film needed a tighter, more focused script that emphasized characters and complexity.
Even the cinematography is pretty average for Spielberg. "Amistad" is good as a history lesson, but not necessarily as film.
This review of Amistad (1997) was written by Eric M on 15 Apr 2016.
Amistad has generally received positive reviews.
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