Essential viewing

Rating: 10/10 (12 May 2014)

I have always said that the viewing of Schindler's List is necessary, it is perhaps the most realistic interpretation of the holocaust and educated me for one about the holocaust far more than any history class did. The point of saying this is because 12 years a slave is to slavery what Schindler's List was to the holocaust. It is necessary viewing and as far as I can tell from my relatively uneducated view point the most realistic interpretation of slavery ever put to celluloid. This is due to the incredible central performance by Chiwetel Ejiofor along with the fantastic supporting cast. Special mention to Michael Fassbender for producing in my opinion one of the most terrifying and brutal characters villains in a movie. The way the film is shot is also incredible, there are several very long takes with steady cams, and you are just watching thinking this is all the one shot. Perhaps the most brilliant thing about the film in my opinion is how the main character visibly loses hope, and this could be seen simply through his posture and the camera work. He starts the film with a straight back and is filmed with steady cams always with wide angle shots, however as the film goes on his shoulders slouch, and sequences of him are shot with hand-held cameras and are shot much closer to him, this portrays so well the intense situation that he has been put in and the complete loss of hope and acceptance of his life of slavery. This is an incredible film that everyone should watch, it is not easy a lot of the time and can be quite brutal, but this is absolutely necessary.