Freedom is a choice. Even if we were born free, very special conditions forge us into prisons that we have to fight against if we want to keep the joy of life alive. Philosophy gives us some encouragement, unites love, wisdom, and love with wisdom, but there always comes a time when, no matter how much we devote ourselves to preparing the soul to adapt to extreme scenarios, the body, stubborn, he not submit and rebel and claim the pleasure he thinks he deserves. Spend a year or a century, the truth is that no one thinks it reasonable to sacrifice their own life, the greatest of their possessions, on the altar of false gods who crush consciences and shatter matter. The clashes between a person’s most intimate demons and the cruel and unjust reality that surrounds that individual produce heroes who save themselves and thus redeem humanity together, even if they are condensed into a select group. And none of this is possible without a good dose of uncommon courage, which is essential to winning the wars to come.
Being free is an achievement, and it was once much more than a mere phrase. In the United States, the cradle of liberal democracy par excellence and the synthesis of everything that can be proven to be effectively conducive to life in society, there was a time when citizens could determine their worth by the color of their skin. Much has changed and much will remain frozen throughout history until the most unlikely of places show up the right people, able to change not only their own destiny, but the stories of those lucky enough to be theirs to meet. Harriet Tubman (18221913) was one of those rare gems that the mists of time dared not swallow. Her life, actually worthy of a film, is still little known and even less appreciated, a salvation that director Kasi Lemmons makes in good time in “Harriet” (2019), a biography that manages to return to one of life’s symbols Struggle AfroBrazilian, American by citizenship the true dimension he always had. A character who pushes himself far beyond his own path.
The title character, embodied in Cynthia Erivo’s media portrayal, took some time to become what she had become. Before she grew tired of being subjugated, beaten, and despised by particularly inhuman masters, Harriet, nee Araminta Ross and called Minty by her captive brothers, was a lone convict doing menial service on the farm of Edward Brodess, the slave trader played by Mike Marunde. Lemmons’ screenplay, cowritten by Gregory Allen Howard, chooses an opening scene to explain much of Minty’s transformation into Harriet: John, the husband, played by Zackary Momoh, pleads for his wife’s release after many years ago contract had been signed. predicted that when Minty’s mother turned 45, she would be declared a freedman. John is a free man, meaning he could have any woman he wanted for his wife, but always in love with Brodess’ slave girl, he remains by his side. In this respect, Lemmons and Howard’s text suffers from a number of errors. It’s not clear what relationship Minty might have had with Gideon, Joe Alwyn’s little angel, who seems to have a mixture of obsession and collective passion for the girl.
Everything else follows the expected course until the great turning point in Harriet’s story and life looms when she finally manages to escape from Maryland to Philadelphia, where she settles in the boarding house of Marie Buchanon, the character of Janelle, Monae. Convinced that she could not abandon her mission, Harriet Tubman began a true pilgrimage throughout American territory earning her the nickname Moses, the biblical prophet who crossed the Red Sea until she rescued more than three hundred enslaved people from the power of violence Master. A real miracle.
Movie: Harriet
Direction: Kasi lemons
Year: 2019
genres: biography/drama
note: 8/10