12 Years a Slave: A long, miserable experience that you must see!

In some ways the story of Solomon Northup is one so compelling and so wrought with tragedy that it's difficult to believe no one's tried to adapt it to the big screen before. The fact that it hasn't is just another damning indictment of the film industry's unwillingness to tackle the issue of slavery. And while 12 Years a Slave has been long overdue it's timing has fortunately allowed it to be the mainstream breakthrough of Hunger and Shame director Steve McQueen.

Northup's story is one about the fragility of freedom for African Americans before the Civil War, a fragility that can still be seen today with instances of institutional racism in the West. Born a free man Northup is a talented and respected violinist living with his family in Saratoga, New York. Then one day he makes the acquaintance of two circus performers offering his a job in Washington, only to drug him, strip him of identification and sell him into slavery.

The fall from free man to slave is handled not so much as a transition but a jarring, instantaneous switch. Driving home the way in which liberty can be stolen in the wink of a eye. From there on the film becomes one long and relentless portrait of the indignities and violence Northup witnesses and suffers first hand. Gradually eroding his attachment to his old life through hardship after hardship. Ageing him physically and driving him despair. 

I recall writing in my Filth review how minor details like sound design and editing can kill a films intensity, especially during difficult to swallow scenes of violence. Thankfully McQueen knows this and does not permit the mercy that a lack of immersion would be. Every whip crack, every strain of the noose rings out over the painfully drawn-out scenes of punishment. The term 'torture porn' doesn't even apply, this is a historical reenactment of one man's suffering and if you struggle to endure it that's kind of the point.

Key to our ability to suffer along with Northup is a sympathetic performance from Chiwetel Ejiofor, no easy feat considering that his character is locked in a state of constant restraint.Make no mistake though Ejifor nails the various stages of Northup development, from the gentle stroll of an affable free man to the determined posturing of a defiant victim. Most pitiable of course is the broken Solomon, with the deadened glare of the hopeless Ejiofor is dripping with misery and sweat.

If there's one problem it's that the impression of Northup aging physically comes very late in the day. The film struggles to convey the passage of time badly enough and it's not until one scene towards the third acts that the years begin to show on Northup's face. Maybe that's the point to have the weight of all he's endured come crashing down in one moment, but regardless it robs the film of a sense of scope.

Also problematic are the occasional touches of directorial flair McQueen brings at inappropriate moment. The scene I mentioned above is a whipping scene shot with one lengthy and tortuous take. It covers the actions of several principle characters with painstaking detail and it a delight to watch...right up until it ends of a shakycam shot of needless symbolism.

These are complaints but minor ones. 12 Years a Slave will still be one of the better films you see this year. A powerhouse performance by Ejiofor as well as newcomer Lupita Nyong'o as one particularly put-upon slave Patsey. Patsey is the subject of sadistic slaver Edwin Epps, played by McQueen's long-time collaborator Michael Fassbender. Fassbender is a great actor, especially in villainous roles but his portrayal of Epps is something new. A smiling, twitching pot of pent-up rage, a living embodiment of the national mental illness that was slavery.

12 Years a Slave is not a film you'll enjoy but is something you need to experience. An window into the life of a slave tailored to immerse contemporary audience. The film is already nominated for several BAFTAs and it'll be a crime is Ejiofor doesn't pick up some Oscar buzz for Best Actor. Because if you think you've endured a lot watching the film, just imagine what the people making it went through.

Film of 2013: Wolf Children

If director Mamoru Hosoda has one signature skill it is the seamless marriage of fanciful anime wackiness with heart-wrenching sorrow. The plots of The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and Summer Wars are both driven by the kind of unexplained madness that so infuses eastern storytelling. Yet that madness always brings tragic consequences that affect audiences on a universal level. Touching on themes of parenthood, coming-of-age and loss Wolf Children may be Hosoda’s most universal film to date. A showpiece as to why critics compare him to the likes of Hayao Miyazaki.

Another unique quality to Wolf Children is that it has the thinnest plot of Hosoda’s work. Compulsively happy college student Hana falls in love with a Wolf Man and before Twilight-haters have a chance to tear up their tickets the two are living together with two baby Okami When the Wolf Man dies in a random accident Hana moves the kids, Yuki and Ame, to the country hoping that in seclusion the children can use their powers unnoticed. From there the film follows the children growing towards adolescence and facing the choice of what they want to be, wolves or humans.

That decision looms over the film touching on its strongest theme, with the wolf vs. human conflict serving as an allegory for discovering your identity. An allegory made tragic by the fact that we see this from the mother’s perspective, meaning that whatever the resolution it has to culminate in a moment that, for most parents, comes too soon. The day your child leaves home. Wolf Children’s greatest achievement is in communicating exactly how this feels. The animation and music wells up with elation before settling down to a melancholy note of finality.

There are bumps in the road on this journey though. While the fun of watching Hana struggle with both motherhood and animal care or Yuki and Ame embrace their inner animal keep it a fun ride it feels at times like a meandering one. One second act digression in particular sees the rural community coming together to help Hana grow her food in a way that feels heart-warming but ultimately pointless.

Hana herself has little characterisation beyond being determined to please everyone, effortlessly winning empathy as the self-sacrificing mother. Meaning Yuki and Ame are the real personality of the film, Yuki easily being the most extroverted but both are full of energy and resolve. Their very different identities a necessary move to send them both on very different paths with unexpected results. 

Wolf Children is the best kind of anime, the kind that transcends its cultural heritage into something the whole world can enjoy. Like parenthood it may demand a little patience at times but is absolutely worth it in the end.