12 Years a Slave

Dear reader,

My name is Miss Tabariès and I am a new English teacher at Jean Moulin. On Friday 21st February 2014 we went to the movies with the students of 1°ES3 to see 12 Years a Slave which has won the top prize of best film at the Baftas and Chiwetel Ejiofor also won one as Best Leading Actor. This masterpiece was nominated for 9 Academy Awards too. After the film the students were asked to write a film review.

Title and year : 12 Years a Slave – 2013 – USA/UK

Genre : Drama, historical epic drama film

Director : Steve McQueen.

Music and soundtrack : Hans Zimmer.

Main actors : Chiwetel Ejiofor (Solomon Northup), Paul Dano (Tibeats), Michael Fassbender (Edwin Epps), Lupita Nyong'o (Patsey), Benedict Cumberbatch (Ford).

Produced by Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner.

Written by John Ridley, based on the book by Solomon Northup.

Running time : 2 hours 14 min

The film 12 Years a Slave was released (in the USA) in 2013 directed by Steve McQueen. It’s an historical drama which takes place in the 1840s. It shows the true story of Solomon Northup, a free black man sold into slavery. He spent 12 years in slavery and the film focuses on these years.

Solomon Northup, a cultivated and educated carpenter and musician living in Saratoga (New York) was kidnapped and sold in the Southern states in 1841 where he had to work on plantations. He gets along very well with other slaves and especially with a woman named Patsey. After a long time he was freed by his friends from the North.

Free again, he wrote his story and published his book on which the film is based.

Chiwetel Ejiofor, starring Norhtup is the main character and has to face extremely hard conditions. His hopelessness is very realistic and shows the cruelty of slavery. He is supported by other great actors like Michael Fassbender, Brad Pitt and Lupita Nyong’o who are  all very gifted and emotional. The viewer has the feeling to be part of the movie. The very realistic settings are so remarkable that the spectator is nearly standing by the scenes. It seems that Solomon Northup and the other characters are taking the viewer back in the 1840s to show how horrible slavery was and especially how the masters were.

According to us it's a must watch for everyone who is interested in history and likes very emotional films.

By Elodie R. and Lina P.

A great film that revisits this dark period, particularly in the United Sates. The actors are great and  so is the staging. We witness two very hard scenes in this movie :

- A very disturbing scene where Solomon remains hanging for hours and hours standing on the tips of his toes.

- When Patsey is whipped : too hard, too realistic, we dare not look.

This is a movie that should be shown on all channels, to serve the cause against racism. Finally, I saw the film in original version which is best. At the end, I think we all shed tears.

By Imane A. & Maeva A.

We can say that this movie is moving. To our point of view it's difficult to make a better movie:  closer to reality and tearfulness... than 12 Years a Slave.

 By Elysabeth M. & Maeva S.

This movie is a beautiful one.  It plunges us into  the America of the 19th century. It teaches us the different living conditions of black people: free in the North, enslaved in the South. I liked this movie even if some scenes were hard to watch.

By Pierre A.

 We think Twelve Years a Slave is a powerful film that evokes strong emotions. Emotionally speaking this film is so thrilling because the actors play their roles with a real conviction and the staging is very realistic. It is far the best way to deal with such a topic. Therefore, the story is quite common, the end is expected, there isn't really suspense or surprise. Overall we quite enjoyed the movie.

By Mélanie L. and Pauline D.

 The message conveyed in this movie is the fact that all men are equal despite their skin color. The white men felt superior and inflicted many physical violences including whipping. All men are free and equal. This movie is to be seen. Knowing that this story is the truth makes it even more sadder and shows us what were the living conditions of the slaves like at that time. However, some scenes are violent for example when we see the characters being whipped as well as passages which make us imagine their terrible suffering. Despite this, they all kept some sort of strength, a fighting spirit and a survival instinct. This movie can be considered sad even if it's a happy ending, it is a poignant history lesson.

By Johana S. & Prescilia R.

 After seeing the movie we shared different points of view. At first, we thought it's a good movie because it  tells the true story of a man who was sentenced to slavery in the United States. The setting, the actors and the costumes help us picture this period of time.

There are hard scenes in which the slaves are treated badly and it which can affect sensitive people.

By Hajar Z. and Clement M.

 I hope you enjoyed reading these students' reviews. Since we saw the movie it was awarded 3 prizes (Academy Awards). The film crew won the Oscar of the Best Motion Picture of the Year, the Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay and Lupita Nyong'o was awarded the Oscar of the Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role.