Amistad
The movie attempts to portray the moving tale of 53 Africans held under horrendous conditions on the Spanish slave ship La Amistad.
Amistad: Spielberg’s Hit and Miss of the Year
Amistad, a documentary about the Spanish slave ship, had the potential to reach greatness, but missed desired target completely by focusing on tedious technical Hollywood aspects instead of the awe inspiring story of a fight for freedom.
Amistad was released in 1997 and was directed by Steven Spielberg. It runs for around 145 minutes, and is rated R for violence and adult content.
The movie attempts to portray the moving tale of 53 Africans held under horrendous conditions on the Spanish slave ship La Amistad. These men, who had been snatched from their homes in what is now current day Sierra Leone, manage to break free and murder the majority of their captors. They attempt to force two of the survivors to take them home, but the ship is captured and the Africans find themselves in America, imprisoned again and involved in a massive legal battle that lasted for decades to come. The Amistad cases were a turning point in the history of African Americans, and need to be shared with the American public. This is why it was a disappointment to watch Steven Spielberg miss the point of the story completely.
Spielberg did manage to do a magnificent job with a few of the dramatic scenes in the movie. A prime example of this would have to be the opening of the movie, which illustrates the revolt on the ship. The scene is very dark, and is able to convey the pure brutality of those crucial moments aboard the La Amistad. What made the scene so compelling was how it delved right into the human psyche through its cinematography and direction. It was able to really capture the very real and desperate need for freedom that those 53 men must have been feeling during the mutiny.
The cinematography and acting were what could have made this movie essentially great. The movie starred Djimon Hounsou, who played the role of Cinque, the only African slave the audience is introduced to in any depth at all. Hounsou plays the role of a leader who thinks that he is not worthy of the title with remarkable conviction. His qualms, uncertainty, rebelliousness and courage put us in the shoes of the character, and allow us to be a part of that historical night. Other main characters include Matthew McConaughey (the lawyer representing the Africans), Anthony Hopkins (President John Quincy Adams) and Morgan Freeman (a former slave turned abolitionist), who all play significant roles in the legal scenes which seem to take up more of the screen time than required.
Sadly, the solid acting and cinematography were overshadowed by what truly made this movie a disappointment to film buffs everywhere. Spielberg seemed to be trying to tell the audience exactly what to feel at all times and was not able to let the passionate story of these courageous young men and their battle for freedom do the talking for itself. Each scene in the movie is choreographed in a very conventional, almost pompous, Hollywood fashion. Even the scene depicting the Africans' horrible existence on the slave ship loses some of its impact because Spielberg tries to organize every second in a more demanding way than is called for. Since the scene was so powerful on its own, it would have been more effective if it was allowed to play out without too much unnecessary direction.
Another downside to the film was that it strayed too far from historical accuracy. Spielberg sugarcoated the relationship between the American courts and slavery too much in that the film ended up giving off a misleading impression. The film portrays that the Supreme Court was convinced by President Adam’s speech to renounce slavery and take a major step towards abolition. However, in reality the case didn’t affect slave trade in America at all because it was a foreign case that revolved around the Atlantic sea trade. Therefore, it did not have any major impacts on slavery inside the United States where the movie takes place.
Amistad had the potential to be a great film depicting a significant moment in the African American heritage of slavery. If Spielberg had realized that he could have let the incredible journey talk for itself rather than overpower it with Hollywood effects, the movie would have reached its full potential. The gripping narratives of the slaves on La Amistad are what the film should have focused on, but the audience barely gets to see them play out. As an alternative, they get a bunch of bells and whistles, with lawyers preaching while the main African characters are left in the sidelines.
Amistad has some great moments, but not enough to hold the entire film together, and in the end left film goers craving much more.
