This film should be taught to children in schools

Rating: 10/10 (16 January 2001)

Anybody in the world who wants or needs to learn something about the concepts of justice, democracy, freedom of speech, fighting against prejudice, reasoned thinking and plain common sense, should see this film. Which means that everybody in the world should see this film. And not just once, but every so often, so that we can keep reminding ourselves of how important these ideas are for a human society to work. Because, using the metaphorical space of a jury room, this is what this film talks about. Many others do as well, but none can reach the viewer as convincingly, with the power, the directness and heartfeltedness of "12 Angry Men". And that is simply because it is so unbelievably good.
This is a masterpiece on not only one but two accounts: Artistically, as the perfect script, the perfect cast and the perfect direction simply cannot be improved upon; the film grips you from the first ballot count to the last minute with such vice-like grip that you almost feel like you are right there sitting in the room with the jurors; and ideologically, as this unsurpassable quality and capacity to absorb the viewer gives it the strength to drive home a moral lesson worthy of a Martin Luther King or Nelson Mandela speech. I hope one day this film will stand alongside "Catcher in the Rye" and the like in children's school syllabuses the world over, as I consider it one of the great Works of Art of the century and essential viewing for any person who wants to improve his or herself.