10 Movies Based On A True Story You Need To Watch Before You Die

3. 12 Years A Slave

Schindler S List
Fox Searchlight Pictures

A firsthand account of life in slavery, this film is the adaptation of a free born man’s 12 year struggle to survive as a slave.

In 1841, an African-American violinist named Solomon Northup living in New York, is drugged, kidnapped and shipped to New Orleans along with other captive African-Americans and sold into slavery. What follows are the 12 years Solomon spends trying to survive while also trying to find a way to get home.

During his years as a slave, Solomon is sold to Edwin Epps, a foul mouthed drunk of a plantation owner who abuses his slaves on a regular basis.

The film is not a comfortable watch, but is offers an unflinchingly brutal and necessary glimpse into what slavery was truly like in the American South. The film shows us how racism is a learned behaviour and a wicked human instrument used to justify slavery as well as the barbaric cruelty demonstrated at the cost of human life.

12 Years a Slave is widely regarded as one of the greatest films of the past decade and won multiple Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Supporting Actress for Lupita Nyong’o.

Contributor

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