Amistad is a masterpiece that will shake your foundations. Since he's Jewish, it was easy to understand how Steven Spielberg could have found the emotional power he displayed in Schindler's List. But he's definitely not black. Amistad shows that the depth of his talent and perception knows no bounds. It does everything for the black experience that Schindler's List did for the Jews, and with just as much passion. He understands the power of pain that crosses all boundaries. It's a film about integrity and the inescapable power and attraction of freedom. It's classic cinema that takes risks, full of the type of graphic realism Spielberg has always avoided. For the first time, he doesn't blink at violence, but forces you to confront your darkest fears about man's inhumanity.
It's an epic about the slave trade, and I admit I expected the film to start in Africa with the rounding up of the slaves, but it starts on the ship. Halfway through the film, there's a flashback that is the single most harrowing and intense scene I have ever witnessed. For ten minutes tears poured down my face while watching the graphic truth of the slave ships. It's so powerful it's almost unbearable. I can't believe people were ever treated like this. Schindler's List was just practice for Amistad. With this film, Spielberg becomes not only America's premiere filmmaker but our premiere educator. I can't believe I wasn't taught about this in school. This is the incident that made the civil war inevitable. It resonates with compassion, full of brilliant performances, an amazing score, and incredible writing. Spielberg is at the absolute peak of his powers. Don't miss it.
MD
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