344. Emancipation; movie review

 

EMANCIPATION

Cert 15

132 mins

BBFC advice: Contains  strong violence, injury detail, racism, brief sexual threat

How can human beings be so awful towards each other?

We mused over this question as we watched a representation of how African-American slaves were treated by their white 'owners' in Emancipation.

Antoine Fuqua's film is a tough watch - slaves are degraded appallingly throughout, looked upon as sub-humans by the whites.

At the centre of it is a God-fearing man of colour, played brilliantly by Will Smith.

Despite his pleas, he is torn from his wife and children and taken to work on a new railway line which is transporting arms to the Civil War's frontlines.

There he hears that President Lincoln has declared that the slaves should be freed, so he is emboldened to try to escape across the Louisiana swamp.

Emancipation is a combination of intense chase and 19th-century American history.

The nemesis of Smith's character is played by Ben Foster - a deeply arrogant site manager who sees slaves as no more human than dogs.

Emancipation pulls no punches - the treatment of people of colour is frighteningly similar to that of the Jews during the Holocaust.

But in Smith's Peter it has a character which shines a light away from the darkness.

However, the journey to his promised land has snakes and other reptiles - real and metaphorical in his way.

It is a shattering good if brutal film and provokes myriad emotions.

I just hope, as Smith does, that his antics at last year's Oscar ceremony don't stand in the way of this film being considered for awards in 2023.

Reasons to watch: An important slice of American history

Reasons to avoid: Its brutality

Laughs: None

Jumps: One

Vomit: None

Nudity: None

Overall rating: 9/10

Did you know? President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, as the nation approached its third year of bloody civil war. The proclamation declared "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free."

The final word. Will Smith: "It’s a movie about freedom, it’s a movie about love, it’s a movie about family, it’s a movie about faith, it’s a movie about endurance and gratitude and it’s a movie about the power of the spirit of the African-American." Complex

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