Great drama of failing accuracy

Rating: 6/10 (11 January 2001)

This is a very good film that has been largely overlooked for some reason. "Amistad" twists the truth a bit for better drama, but the main reason to see this film is the amazing dialogue, at times very, very funny and very well imagined. The group of Mende tribe members make swift, down-to-earth judgments about their surroundings and the people that try to interact with them, and the inability to communicate results in another very clever touch: Joadson and Baldwin learn to count from 1 to 10 in Mende, and then walk around the docks trying to find former Mende tribe members. The dialogue of "Amistad" is very special and interesting indeed, one of the best I've had to good fortune to encounter. Another part that impressed me was the horrifying testimony that Cinque gives in the court room - as reported in the goofs section of this film, this testimony was in reality given after the Judge rendered his verdict and did not change the outcome. Either way, it's a extremely heavy part of the film, sickening and a very well portrayed depiction of the disgusting slave trade business.
The performances are stunning. Especially Hopkins and Hounsou are very convincing - Hounsou's confused anger and Hopkins' final speech are great to watch. Seeing Anna Paquin as Queen Isabella was very funny, but her character was almost too silly - I doubt that the queen of Spain was so childish at 11. Parts of the drama replaces truth, which is hard to forgive in this matter. After all, the real events of this story are dramatic enough for a film, there was no real need to dramatize further. But it is a very good film nonetheless.