Review of Amistad (1997) by Kjetil H — 03 Feb 2010

I love historical, detail-oriented epics and I love legal dramas. I wish I had seen this movie 12 years ago, but for some reason, I had never gotten around to it. It also made me wish that I had paid attention more during my history classes...but that's okay.

I think this movie was received by critics improperly in 97. I think some of the conventions that we now have in historical drama (which has recently been reinvented by the likes of Scorsese and Mann) were derived directly from Spielberg's 90s films, this included. The characters may not be fully realized, but there is enough here to grab hold of. These are real people, not fiction and I think this film upholds the believability of the people involved in this case. I have no problem with the script...even with the sometimes over-the-top liberalism. Yes, maybe this was advertised and promoted as the definitive film displaying slavery in the United States...but it's not. There are horrifying, hard-to-watch scenes in the film which are realistic and emotionally challenging...but Roots will always be that work. This, on the other hand is about politics.

Politics are what make this story interesting to me. Especially (possibly sadly) because of the insane political conditions we're living in. This film serves as a reminder about the basis of America...what we should always strive for and how we continually forget our past. I actually think (which Spielberg and Amistad lean far left) that this does show the two sides of the coin, if only briefly. But in the end, abolition was a moral issue and the cost to the US (through war, the separatist movement, economical fallout of the south) had to be put aside for the basic reason of humanity and progress. It's funny how fitting that message is for the issues we face today.

Anyway...back to the movie. It's an absolute crime that Djimon did not get a nomination for best actor this year (let alone a win). The Academy has tried to pay him back for his lesser work later on, but this is one of the greatest performances of the 90s. Hopkins is amazing...transformative, really. The other major and recognizable stars here are wonderful, as well as Djimon's fellow captives.

The costumes and art direction are fantastic as is the script (although it doesn't flow as well as Franzoni's later Gladiator script for which he won the Oscar). Spielberg uses his usual tricks, but it is obvious that despite his brilliant work on Schindler's List earlier that Amistad was a stepping stone to Saving Private Ryan, Catch Me If You Can, Munich and AI. There's undeniable Spielberg here, but this doesn't really feel like his film.

All in all, a classic which I cannot be sure about, but believe will be looked at more fondly in the future. A patriotic, rousing film with interesting subject matter. An under.