“I don’t want to
survive. I want to live.” Solomon Northup
“12 Years a Slave”
Steve McQueen’s movie really caught my attention, first of all for the striking
realism of the slavery era and second of all for the best picture in motion
I’ve seen in a long time. With the perfect film editing of Joe Walker and the
complimentary music of Hans Zimmer the result is amazing. Based on a true
story, Solomon’s Northup book with the exact same name, and a fitly framed
together script by John Ridley, it all incorporates a masterpiece.
Even if the action
starts in the antebellum United
States
It should
definitely be an art-house film, not for the “originality” of the plot – the
never-ending war for the fight of freedom of any kind of minority, not only
the black one – but due to the fact that it has such a renewed and kind approach
towards such a sensitive subject. Throughout the entire movie, I totally
empathized with the characters that fought for a cause, characters so well
played by less known actors but with no lesser talent. I mean I was sorry for
Tarantino’s Django too but I did not feel sorry for him. I wept with Solomon
when he woke up in that prison the next day of his first violin concert in Washington; and also with Eliza (Adepero Oduye) for the separation of her
children. It makes you wonder if you can trust anyone anymore, and that is a
big gain from the start, if a movie or any other kind of art makes you ask yourself
some questions you normally do not.
Moreover, I still cannot figure it out how those two fools tricked Solomon into going with them. Was it the mirage of fame? or money? or whatever, another unsolved mystery in a man’s life. I like the fact that the director also lets this kind of unanswered questions. He trusts his spectators to digest for their own.
Moreover, I still cannot figure it out how those two fools tricked Solomon into going with them. Was it the mirage of fame? or money? or whatever, another unsolved mystery in a man’s life. I like the fact that the director also lets this kind of unanswered questions. He trusts his spectators to digest for their own.
In addition, the
fact that you will also definitely share unshed tears with characters like Patsy
(Lupita Nyong ‘o) which stands out among the other slaves for working harder
than any man there and who almost dies protecting her right to be clean - a piece
of soap who almost gets her killed, it will diminish any kind of mundane problems
one can complain about.
In my opinion,
this is the role of any kind of art, to make you change from deep within, to produce some sort of catharsis. Yet if your are not so easy to
impress, you will for sure at least admire the art with which this movie was shot:
scenes shot from all possible angles: down, circle, diagonally, tilting from
way up above (it is still printed on my retina the scene when all the slaves
are brought from Washington into a carload in order to be shipped to South, and
the camera perfectly catches how they were all squirmed flat ways like sardines
into that caravan); Detailed scenes like the highlights on the cotton worms,
the face of the characters well focused even for several minutes some times;
panning - mainly on Solomon and his departures among the masters he has along
the years, and the scene shot in gross plan; the most striking scene is the one
where Solomon is almost hanged up to death by Tibeats (Paul Dano), Solomon
remains hanging for an entire day while everybody around him evolve normally.
This scene goes hand in hand with Bilie Holiday’s song “Strange fruit”, I quote:
“Southern trees
bear a strange fruit
Blood on the
leaves and blood at the root
Black bodies
swinging in the southern breeze
Strange fruit
hanging on the poplar trees.”
This can very
easily be spotted as a symbol to the contemporary society we actually live in,
because it normally happens the same way, people die every day as a consequence
of our ignorance and yet no one seems to care, each and every single one of us
evolve normally.
I promised my
self I will not get into philosophies but the collective character - the slave
owners like Ford (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Epps (Michael Fassbender) – really
drove me crazy with their constant preaches about the Lord while they were the
Devil in disguise, otherwise two characters very well played.
The acapella
chorus songs who constantly accompanied Solomon throughout his years of slavery
and the echo of the songs long before the scene has finished can give any one
the goose bumps, it asserts even more the drama of the black people who’s only
defense is to sing, cry and to pray for a better after life. Tibeat’s famous
refrain “Run nigger run” and the religious songs of the slaves perfectly conclude
this state of mind.
The
fact that Solomon Northup becomes Platt after being sold as a slave is another
symbol of the stolen identity; but the fact that he never falls into disbelief,
on the contrary, he adapts in order to survive still keeping his dignity, makes
him worthy of this duality, which brings him honor in the end.
By far the most
shocking scenes are those with all the whips and the abuses of the slaves, and after seeing the entire stunt list, it is understandable how they look so awfully
real.
Even though some
of them were free black man with papers, as Solomon used to be, they didn’t
stand a chance in front of the despise of white people. Whoever said that power
confines monsters, was right. Still, McQueen is very attentive to humanize here
and there these monsters by enlivening them with the feeling of guilt. As I was
saying, this movie is full of symbols and implicitly of subtexts.
But as in any fairy
tale the main character won’t be able to get out of the mess alone, at least
this is what the famous Russian theater methodologist Propp states, Platt needs
some exterior magic help (as his own attempts lamentably fail) and the help for
Platt is brought by Bass (Brad Pitt) who restores the faith in humanity. Nonetheless,
Platt’s attempts are not diminished. He does everything to survive, and get in
touch with his family: he builds up his own pen and ink, gives his last penny
to a stranger; he even tries to escape several times, but then he comes to his
senses acknowledging that it’s not a safe choice for the moment and that
patience can be more rewarding. Platt finds his way through, mainly granted by
his talent to play the violin. The secondary characters like the slave owners,
the plantation supervisors, the slaves, confer an unbinding authenticity to the
movie.
Astounding is
also the remake of the American society from the 19th century with the superb
costumes, architecture and landscapes, it transcends right back in time without
omitting any of the rigors, customs and especially the effrontery.
The end of the
movie is surprisingly simple and calm. It is the tranquility needed after such
a long storm, so the fact that Solomon reunites with his family without many
explanations with a simple “I am sorry”
and the hug of the newly born grandchild, it perfectly completes the canvas in
an Aristotelian style. Further on, the fact that he becomes a militant of the
slavery abolition and he writes his own story, it gives us the hope we all look
for in all stories.
Thus, Solomon’s
famous line “I don’t want to survive. I want to live” becomes the leitmotif of
the movie.
I couldn’t be
more enchanted by a movie even If a tried and the fact that until now “12 years
a slave” was nominated to the Oscars and won big prizes at the BAFTA Awards
makes me confident that good movies still find a way to exist.
Film Review by Mirela Buhus –
18.02.2014
Niciun comentariu:
Trimiteți un comentariu