A lesson in hope

Rating: 10/10 (16 March 2014)

Despite the unspeakable cruelty displayed in this film, it is ultimately about the resiliency of the human spirit.
In the 19th century, for those who took a literal interpretation of the bible, the black population was regarded as sub-human, they were considered descendants of Ham and associated their station in life as the result of the debauchery of the son of Noah.
Land owners who justified their ill gotten gains on the backs of slaves looked to the bible and believed profoundly that they could manage but not change the ways of the slaves, through hard labour and bible teachings.
It's no wonder then, that we see the bible being used as justification for cruelty, particularly when we see a sadistic deranged slave owner speak of the "lash" This is not the loving Christian values we want to believe. That is the danger of different biblical interpretations, because this is twisted, selfish interpretation of the "good word"
This is an unblinking, raw, and probably the most accurate account of Soloman's life on film. The 12 years that changed him forever. If it's hard to watch, it's difficult to come to terms with how cruel mankind can be. It's a shameful history, and yet it was an economic reality for the South, naked capitalism, and was too lucrative to give up.
The shame of it all was every day 500lbs of cotton put money in the slave owners' pockets, but it wasn't enough, the greed was so great, the master wouldn't stop until he beat any notion of freedom they had in their souls.
And yet, Soloman never gave up hope, hope was not going to be beat out of him, his eyes were the witness of history and the window of hope; from the time he was kidnapped and flogged, to witnessing a man in muzzle for speaking his mind then watching him die for trying to save a woman's honor, to chancing upon men being lynched, to a woman begging for him to kill her mercifully, to being forced to do a violent act, his sorrow was in his eyes, McQueen's amazing direction lingered on Soloman's eyes, and it was his eyes that told the full story of hope that one day he would be free.
I truly loved this movie. Slavery is a complicated business, some will always feel guilt for what they endured or what they did to survive and who they left behind. It's a story that's not easy to witness because we want to believe we are better and have moved forward since those times. But we need to understand the realities of humanity. It's messy and not always kind. We have to work at being decent to one another everyday. It's all too easy to exploit others, it's not so easy to do the right thing. This is a movie for the times.