Amistad (1997)

Genre: Drama / Historical

Directed by: Steven Spielberg

Cast: Morgan Freeman, Anthony Hopkins, Matthew McConaughey

Running time: 154 minutes

Based on true story, Amistad tells the tale of a group of black men who were bought as slaves by Spanish folks in 1839. On a ship called La Amistad, off the coast of Cuba, the enslaved men freed themselves of their chains and took over control of the boat, before being arrested by the US authorities further down the line. Their recapture was followed by an American court case, to determine the men’s fate, that went up to the Supreme Court.

First off, what a team we have here. As director, we have Steven Spielberg, a man well known for being able to weave a compelling story on screen. Once again, he did not disappoint here. Also, we have a loaded cast of talented actors, all in top form. When you can count on people like Anthony Hopkins, Matthew McConaughey and Morgan Freeman to play roles and you feed them good material, it is bound to make a solid film.

While the historical accuracy of this film has been justifiably disputed (heck, this is Hollywood we are talking about), Amistad is still a very good movie about a truly ugly part of American history. In spite of the liberties taken by the filmmakers, the essence is there, and it is packages in a very compelling movie. The cinematography was great; some of the scenes can be hard to take, but it was necessary to show the violence that some people had to go through to be free.

All things considered, Amistad is a film I highly recommend. It is a little long, but it well worth it.

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