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12 Years a Slave

12 Years a Slave


Movies are not just for an entertainments, movies can educate people on various things such as history, culture, science. This film, 12 Years a Slave, is about slavery that took place in the recent history of 1800s. It is based on the autobiography of Solomon Northup who was kidnapped and sold into slavery. It reveals the truth about one of the darkest times of human history.


Slavery is a very delicate subject and still occurs in the modern world, though it is not as brutal as past. Even though it is hard and depressing to watch such stories, I am happy that McQueen and the team revealed the cruel reality of slavery by creating this movie. It shows the brutal events that followed during Northup’s 12 years as a slave.

12 Years a Slave has an incredible cast with renowned as well as obscure actors. As Patsy, Lupita Nyong’o brings a new face to the big screen with marvelous performance. Chiwetel Ejiofor is perfect as the main character, Solomon Northup. Michael Fassbender is truly excellent in this movie. His character is the most barbaric, lunatic and evil soul. I almost hit the screen when I watched him play as Edwin Epps.

Even though the events took place within 12 years, I felt like it’s based on three or four months. Solomon haven’t aged much during that 12 years of slavery. However it seems like his family has aged for more than 20 years. It’s sad to see such plot holes in this great movie and I think directors should have paid more attention to these details.

This is one of those movies that is honest about history and it takes you on a powerful and emotional journey. Honestly, I never want to watch it again, not because it is not a good movie, ofcoz it is a remarkable movie, but it is extremely painful to watch. That being said, I still think 12 Years a Slave is one of the best movies of the year.

My Rating: 4 out of 5

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