Saturday, February 25, 2017

Quick Reviews: The Birth of a Nation

Due to its Director's past, this tale about our past was snubbed by the Oscars.  Will it settle for having me Review it?
This lovely tale is opened with 2 Quotes, the latter of which is from Thomas Jefferson.

I assume it is supposed to be ironic that the Quote is from a guy that owned Slaves.  Right?
This is the Story of Nat Turner, a child born into Slavery in the 19th Century.  Laughs ahoy.
As an Adult, his Education in the Scripture has made him useful for his Master.  He is sent around to tell other Slaves about the Bible and how it supports Slavery.
On top of that, he finds love with a fellow Slave, gets married and has a Daughter.
Unfortunately, he continues to see the atrocities committed upon his people.  Can he keep this up?
When his Wife is attacked by some bad guys- including Rorschach-, this pushes him even further.

Will he lead a Revolt?  Will it end well?  Don't read a History Book and just watch this to find out.  The End.
Good, but rough stuff.  A Film about Slavery in the South is rough- shocking!  That's about the only joke I can make about this one, given that all of this really happened.  People died, so not exactly funny.  The Film generally works quite well.  You feel for Nate throughout, as his turn isn't instantaneous.  It builds and builds nicely throughout the Film.  I'd also note that the Film is just under 2 Hours, so it doesn't wear out its welcome.  All in all, The Birth of a Nation is a good Film that deserves some merit.  It is just a bit of a shame that its Creators did something pretty sleazy that left their Film for dead...
If you can get past the stuff in Nate Parker's past, the Film is good.  Obviously, this is a rough subject, so bear that in mind.

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