For this weekend, don’t miss Antoine Fuqua’s poignant film starring Will Smith, Emancipation!
Check out our mini-review and have a great weekend!
You can still have a longer list of the releases under the “This Friday” section on the homepage.
Emancipation
WHY
For his new film, Emancipation, director Antoine Fuqua (Training Day, The Equalizer) focuses on an important period in the history of the United States of America. The emancipation of the slaves. The plot of the film is based on the story of the slave Gordon (called Peter in the movie) and the famous photo of his back that moved the world at the height of the Civil War. We follow him from his departure from a plantation where he has to leave his family for a work camp of the Confederate army. He will then do everything to escape and join his family. As Gordon, Will Smith is fully committed to the role and even speaks Haitian Creole. He is truly impressive in his role as is the ruthless hunter played by Ben Foster. The two of them are going to have an intense hunt in the Louisiana bayous. Where the danger is not only the hunter but also the wildlife. After the swamps, an even greater challenge awaits Gordon, the Civil War and the terrible siege of Port Hudson. The film is really poignant and even if it tends to tip a little too much into the action film, it has its share of exciting sequences, an inspired cast and filmmakers and without forgetting a stunning cinematography. Despite some mistakes in the historical scope, the film is really good and worth watching!
WHAT
“Emancipation” tells the triumphant story of Peter (Will Smith), a man who escapes from slavery, relying on his wits, unwavering faith and deep love for his family to evade cold-blooded hunters and the unforgiving swamps of Louisiana on his quest for freedom. The film is inspired by the 1863 photos of “Whipped Peter,” taken during a Union Army medical examination, that first appeared in Harper’s Weekly. One image, known as “The Scourged Back,” which shows Peter’s bare back mutilated by a whipping delivered by his enslavers, ultimately contributed to growing public opposition to slavery.
WHERE