too many stories here and I wish Spielberg had picked one

Rating: 5/10 (26 July 2000)

`Amistad' **. (1997, USA, R, 152 min. Directed by Steven Spielberg with Morgan Freeman, Nigel Hawthorne, Anthony Hopkins, Djimon Hounsou, Matthew McConaughey). `Amistad' is based on the historical account of an 1839 revolt by Africans on the slaveship Amistad and their subsequent trial when the ship ends up in the United States. There are a number of stories in the movie, some factual, some the product of literary license. A problem with the movie is that Spielberg never decides which story. There is the heroic story of Cinqué (Hounsou) the leader of the slaves. He is the first to break free and he leads the revolt. He learns to communicate with the lawyers and helps with his and the other's defense.
There is the story of the Grishamesque young lawyer (McConaughey) who is willing to sacrifice all for the cause. He is able to outwit the court and the prosecutor, talk Ex-president John Quincy Adams (Hopkins) into appearing before the Supreme Court all-the-while he's loosing all his clients and receiving death threats. This lawyer story line provides the scriptwriter the chance to write in a couple lawyer jokes.
There is the history lesson movie. The court case is real. Slaves kidnapped in Africa revolted on their way to the Americas. Rather than finding their way back to Africa the ship ends up in America and court battle ensues. The Queen of Spain wants the ship and cargo (that is the slaves back so they can be tried for murder and piracy. The captain of the ship that found and brought in the Amistad claims ownership of the abandoned cargo. The leaders of the abolitionist movement claim Cinqué and the other slaves are in fact free men because there are treaties that outlaw the capture and enslavement of Africans. (Men who were slaves at the time of the treaty or who were born as slaves remain slaves. It's only against the law to enslave free men.)
There is the dramatization of the slave trade. African villages are overrun; the villagers captured with nets, chained together and sold in a market. After the sale, they are chained into boats and shipped to the Americas for resale. The scenes are quit dramatic, especially the open ocean scene where the Amistad's captain realizes he's under provided and have to lighten his load. Fifty slaves are selected, chained to weights and pushed over board.
There are too many stories here and I wish Spielberg had picked one. `Amistad' is available on video and there are a lot of things worth seeing but there's too much not to recommend. A marginal thumbs down from me.