Jason S
Brilliant film about American Nat Turner and the rebellion.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
10/11/23
Full Review
Gareth v
Impressive directorial debut from Nate Parker (and a more than solid acting gig as well) in this brutal and compelling story.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
06/23/23
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Georgan G
Great writing & acting. Difficult topic but well handled. Sad, but put into somewhat perspective by the child who became a Union soldier.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
06/23/23
Full Review
Dave S
While Nate Parker's The Birth of a Nation clearly has an important story to tell, looking at it objectively, it's actually not a very well-made movie. It is the tale of Nat Turner, a slave on a Virginia plantation, who uses the word of God to initiate a rebellion against the ruthless plantation owners. Based on actual events, it is a powerful and inspirational story of freedom, dignity, and the horrors of oppression and hate. Unfortunately, it feels downright amateurish at times. There are far too many close-ups that serve no purpose, the editing at times is too rapid-fire and doesn't allow the viewer time to digest the shot, many shots are poorly composed with too much extraneous and needless detail, and the shot of the angel at the end is laughable, probably not Parker's intent. While it is a film with some merit, it is also deeply flawed.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
10/16/23
Full Review
isla s
This is a sobering watch, with some nice cinematography. The irony of the houses being white and the house owners being white, while the slaves have to (for the most part) take care of themselves, didn't pass me by. The music played is quite subtle, which I liked.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, there are many uses of strong language, including racially offensive terms, so be aware of that. I suppose it wouldn't be entirely authentic to the time its set in etc. if that weren't the case. I thought some of the dialogue was quite thought provoking, somewhat poignant, while what others said left a lot to be desired.
There is a fair amount of violence displayed (often bloody violence) including scenes of torture, so its worth being aware of that, hence me saying its a sobering watch.
I thought Nate Parker gives a pretty stirring performance as Nat Turner. It has somewhat of a feel of '12 Years a Slave', I suppose but its not quite got the same 'epic' feel to it that the other film had, from what I remember.
The plot pace is a little slow and so this may frustrate some but its certainly an ok film overall. I'm not sure anyone can much enjoy the sort of film that focusses on the injustices of slavery and that shows clearly how uncaring and brutal slave owners were. I also noticed some of the dialogue was said in rather hushed tones, which I suppose had to be so, due to the context of the situations but I did struggle a bit to follow some of the dialogue. There are subtitles included in the Blu-Ray though, which help but this issue may frustrate some never the less.
Yes, I'd say this is worth a watch overall, if the subject matter interests you, although I honestly (obviously) can't comment on how accurate, or not, it is. There is one scene towards the end which is particularly haunting and having seen it once, its not the sort of film I'd want to see again.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
Full Review
michelle c
All I want to know is the name of the hidden hand who thought of this script or said yes to it and put the team together to create it - an I'm not talking about Parker or the other black guy who are acting as pawns for the real culprits. As a woman of color, American, I can say with the utmost certainty that demons run Hollywood. They have a sick, perverted obsession with slavery, but only in the context of slaves as American blacks. If you only follow the propaganda and liberal narrative that most Hollywood films follow, you would really believe slavery was unique to us. It's a big lie. But still, like the SADOMASOCHIST they are - they glorify black bodies dead and hanging and generate the lowest frequency of hate, fear, disgust, and nausea as possible. If you watch this highly fictional version of the Nat Turner story - you'll see for yourself how long the camera chooses to focus on horrific scenes like Nat's split open bloody back. He gets beat on camera with a leather whip beyond anything reasonably believable. There is just no way I will ever believe these films are made to educate - they are not. Each slave film (and others) that is released from Hollywood aims to serve a purpose - multiple purposes - but never anything good. Every horrible, torturous circumstance you can never imagine on your own will be performed in this film. You'll see the results of rape and random beatings of black women more than once. You'll see their men stand by and have to watch these things happen - emasculation disguised as "movie." This is what you call psychological warfare and I am sick of these satanists in Hollywood. Gut wrenching black bellies sucked in with the inner rage of performance oppression. The bible and God's word being manipulated and misused to sly turn people (especially black people) away from from the gospel. This is an incredibly demonic film and if you are not watching to research and observe, I do not recommend watching it because it may affect you and your perception of you slip into beta mode, which imo is exactly what these evil people want. There was even a scene where a white kidnapper of blacks (they call them masters) used a hammer to break open the teeth of a man to shove a funnel down his mouth and force feed him by pouring food in his throat - all because this person wouldn't eat. I mean just ridiculous. They show white people looking like poor, trailer trash, poorly educated, insecure raging animals. But the real history doesn't support those depictions. Most of the slave owners were very wealthy and of Khazar / middle eastern descent - but these films keep placing regular white folks in the line of fire in these imaginary roles. I am really waiting for the day when people stop paying to watch these horrible films & force Hollywood to tell the truth or stick to admitted fiction. They will never tell the truth because Satan's children control the film industry. They finance and release so mostly lies - and those lies are supported by the school books that are also filled with lies and deception. It's exhausting. Do not let your children watch this and be traumatized and start to develop contempt and hate for strangers and see innocent people as their enemies. That's what this kind of film does to unsuspecting viewers who actually believe and absorb everything they watch. 0 stars.
Rated 0.5/5 Stars •
Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
Full Review
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