Reviews of 12 Years a Slave 2013

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ksenija
★★★★ Liked Watched by ksenija 6

12 years a slave more like 12 years of me fucking crying

DirkH
★★★★½ Liked Watched by DirkH 37

This was not what I was expecting and I mean that in the best way possible.

What most of us probably have gotten used to is a sensationalist or manipulative approach in 'big' films that deal with 'big' subjects. And even though 12 Years a Slave has moments where it's guilty of this as well, its overall restrained and distancing, observing tone was something that caught me off guard.

Slavery is a subject that deserves the reverence McQueen has given…

Caty Alexandre
★★★★★ Liked Watched by Caty Alexandre 10

One of the reasons why I love cinema are films like 12 Years a Slave.

Feel what I felt after it ended, is the reason why I love cinema.
See performances like the one's in this film, are the reason why I love cinema.
Being moved by every single frame that you are watching, is the reason why I love cinema.
Have the perfect soundtrack to go with every scene, is the reason why I love cinema.
Flawless direction as…

davidehrlich
★★★★★ Watched by davidehrlich 6

a staggering portrait of compassion & how evil is the sum of a million small apathies. historic in all respects. a masterpiece in part because of how it achieves a vital & complex inclusiveness by refusing to betray its specificity.

i'll double back on this later, and perhaps find things to nitpick, but upon first blush McQueen's film feels like nothing less than a landmark.

aaron
★★★ Watched by aaron 10

where is the justice for patsey,,, huh?

Jizzmonkey
★★ Added by Jizzmonkey 3

If you enjoy hearing white people using the word "n*gger", watching black people being whipped, and sitting thru a crap piece of filmmaking, then this is the movie for you. So much of this is awful, and I don't mean the evil of slavery, I mean the semi-evil of a hamfisted cliché-ridden trashfest that ostensibly relates to this important subject. Notable only for a brilliant performance by Paul Dano and possibly Brad Pitt's worst performance out of many terrible performances…

SilentDawn
★★★★★ Liked Rewatched by SilentDawn 11

The multitude of moments containing potent bursts of pure evil and sorrow are almost too numerous to count, but each one adds up to something of a vivid nightmare. The harsh rattling of chains against the inky blackness. A piece of paper letting off small fragments of light in order to fight the hatred. The squishing disparity of mud as it struggles to keep a man alive. A shot of the moonlight hopelessly trying to illuminate a sexual assault, but…

Holly-Beth
★★★★★ Liked Rewatched by Holly-Beth 1

chiwetel ejiofor didn't win an oscar???? just because matthew mcconaughey lost weight.... o.... kay then

Naughty aka Juli Norwood
★★★★ Liked Watched by Naughty aka Juli Norwood 16

I can watch anything! I can watch mutilations, decapitations, and other abominations without batting an eye! Much to my surprise I discovered something I can't watch when I tackled this film!

When push came to shove and I got up close and personal with the atrocities inflicted on slaves my heart grew heavy and I honestly felt sickened by the inhumanity that unfolded on the screen!

This is not a film I will turn to again any time soon and…

Angelica Jade Bastién🪼🌷
★ Rewatched by Angelica Jade Bastién🪼🌷 11

I hadn’t watched this since around its release. I was amazed that I hate it even more when revisiting it this weekend. My issues aren’t scaffolded by a disinterest or issue with displaying “black trauma”. I think acting as if there is there is a strict line between trauma and joy in the black imaginary is a lie. I won’t get too deep into my issues since I revisited this for a longer project. But I find this to be…

alex
★ Watched by alex 13

between my mother showing me roots at age 8 or 9, my father exposing me to history books on british colonialism at around the same time, and attending annual memorials for apartheid era massacres at my primary school, there is very little my parents, environment, the world at large have shielded me from when it comes to the historical and present suffering of black people. i've avoided 12 years a slave for as long as i have because, despite my…

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