12 Years a Slave is definitely not a Disney film and in no way is it glossed over. It’s not a movie with lavish costumes, grand Southern balls or even a war time love story. It is simply one man’s story about his time as a slave and the physical and emotional abuse suffered at the hands of his "owners." 12 Years a Slave is based on the memoir of the same name by Solomon Northup, a black man who was born free but was kidnapped and forced into slavery for 12 years of his life. Solomon a violinist by trade lives as a free man with his wife and children in Saratoga, NY. One day when his wife and children are away from home, two men approach Solomon and tell him that they have a great opportunity for him playing the violin …show more content…
The film is full of stunning visuals that doesn’t gloss over the strong message and provokes serious questions of morality and ethics within the viewer. The scene of Solomon hanging is a fitting example of this exemplary cinematography. Through these shots the audience gets a true sense of the passage of time and gets an overwhelming sense of hatred, fear and discomfort, the same feeling Solomon must have had during that moment. So often these things are glossed over and the audience is let off the hook, and that’s where so many of the films in the past have failed.
Another one of the many things cinematographer Sean Bobbitt used that helped connect the audience to the film to 12 Years a Slave was the scenery of Louisiana. One of the things that was done superbly well in this film was the contrast between the beauty of the locations and the harsh reality of slavery. They used a number of effects that made the scenery stand out even more.
In conclusion, 12 Years a Slave is a truly powerful film that gave me a lot to think about. It is a perfect example of contrasting the beauty of this world with the harsh reality of human kind. Also the acting, staging and cinematography allowed me to truly connect to the story but above all it’s a powerful, though provoking, and beautiful work of