Right on Your Face

Rating: 8/10 (26 October 2013)

A real life story of a man who was victim of the society of the times, a world where the color of your skin set you back in the eyes of many, and that allowed passions and injustice to rise to levels so dangerous, even those who knew right from wrong fear to speak up. Imagine what it must have felt for African Americans who were seen by many as the property of the rich, who had no rights, and who lived in constant fear of being killed, abused, or at least treated as a human being of the worst kind.
A "free" man is somehow kidnapped and taken back to the South for profit. Once he is outside of the safe haven where he has lived all his life, he has no resources as no one will offer him help of any kind. Soon, the audience become witness to different degrees of torture, abuse, rape, and the mistreatment of this man. He loses his voice and the ability to defend himself for any sort of belligerence and rebellion will result in more unjust punishment.
There are those masters who recognize the evil at the core of the whole concept of slavery, but money rules this world, and as long as these types of contract are produced, the humanity of the slaves disappears. If there is a way to lessen the level of disgrace is to transfer them into a similar type of hell; at least they won't be killed. Here is where the movie excels by presenting the different types of personalities who supported this society: from the coldhearted businessman who sees nothing but dollars to the tortured plantation owner who struggles with his position but does very little to end the situation. Then there is the indifferent types, and the conflicted simpletons who end up in positions of power and are subject to emotional conflicts and mood swings.
The cast is universally top notch, with strong support in the technical areas to evoke an era that has not been gone for too long. We see the recreations of plantations, both inside and outside, the reenactment of atmospheres where lack of tolerance takes a secondary spot to humiliation of the worst type.
You will have a front row seat to lashings and all sorts of unspeakable acts, of peeking at the soul of man in love with a slave and himself a slave of what society offers him: he's the master of his property and the slave of a world he doesn't understand but that he must serve.
The film is a work of art that sometimes asks too much from its audience. It is not perfect but close to it; yet it might be its power that is overwhelming or just a strong reminder of what we are capable to creating, enduring, and that we must struggle to resist and conquer.