12 Years a Slave

Rating: 9/10 (7 March 2014)

And the Oscar for best picture goes to... 12 Years a Slave, and it was deserved! Sure, it had a lot of good competition, but in my view it was the right choice.
This is a strong theme, and lately there are other movies about slavery, but if you want to see one of the best in the genre, this is the one. A movie based on a true story about the memoirs of Solomon Northup, and how he was abducted and sold into slavery, for 12 years in his life, hence the title.
We begin the movie seeing Solomon and his family, for now he's still a free man, but things are about to change. Two men tricked him, and he's sold into slavery. From now on, he'll have to live working for slave-owners. The story develops from here until he's finally free, after 12 years (obviously predictable, so not a spoiler).
The cast is absolutely fantastic: Chiwetel Ejiofor - main role interpreted beautifully. Benedict Cumberbatch - brief moment in the movie, played the role of the "fair" slave-owner. Michael Fassbender - he should have won the Oscar, he delivered a spectacular performance. Lupita Nyong'o - now a Oscar-winner, and doing a very good job. Brad Pitt - even for brief moments, but with a determinant role.
The cinematography is stunning, the music, despite being a little repetitive enters in the right moments building up the movie's atmosphere (Music by Hans Zimmer). The narrative is built from the book, it's well-structured, and developed in an easy way to understand it.
You may need to have a strong stomach at some points because the violence is present and it's a very visual and also emotional experience.