Plot
The schooner ''La Amistad'' is transporting black slaves off the coast of the Captaincy General of Cuba, Spanish colony of Cuba in 1839. A captive, Joseph Cinqué, Cinqué, leads an uprising against the crew, most of whom are killed. Two navigators, Pedro Montez and Jose Ruiz, are spared on condition they help sail the ship to Africa. The Spaniards predictably betray them and instead sail into US waters, where the ship is stopped by the United States Revenue Cutter Service, U.S. revenue cutter ''Washington (1837), Washington'', and the mutineers are arrested. A complicated legal battle ensues over the slaves. United States Attorney William S. Holabird brings charges of piracy and murder against them, but they are simultaneously claimed as property both by Montez & Ruiz, and as marine salvage, salvage by two officers from the ''Washington''. The Spanish government of Isabella II of Spain, Queen Isabella intervenes in support of Montez & Ruiz, under the Pinckney's Treaty, Treaty of San Lorenzo. To avoid a diplomatic incident, President Martin Van Buren directs his United States Secretary of State, Secretary of State John Forsyth (politician), John Forsyth to support the Spanish claim. Meanwhile, abolitionist Lewis Tappan and his black associate Theodore Joadson (a former slave), resolve to help the captives. They approach the brilliant lawyer, former US president and serving United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative John Quincy Adams, but he is reluctant to get involved. They instead hire the young and eccentric attorney Roger Sherman Baldwin. Baldwin, unable to converse directly with his clients due to the language barrier, suspects the slaves are not Cubans but Africans who have been kidnapped and transported illegally as part of the banned transatlantic slave trade. He and Joadson search ''La Amistad'' and find documents which prove the captives were kidnapped from Sierra Leone Colony and Protectorate, Sierra Leone and transported across the Atlantic aboard the Portuguese slave ship ''Tecora'' before being transferred to ''La Amistad'' in Havana. The judge is impressed and signals his intention to dismiss the US and Spanish governments' case and release the captives. To preclude this possibility, Van Buren replaces the judge with a younger man, Coglin, whom he believes will be easier to manipulate. Joadson seeks advice from Adams, who tells him that court cases are usually won by the side with the best 'story'. Baldwin and Joadson recruit freedman James Covey as a translator, enabling Cinqué to testify directly before the court. He describes how he was kidnapped from his home, and the horrors of the Middle Passage. Baldwin calls Captain Fitzgerald of the Royal Navy's West Africa Squadron to corroborate Cinqué's testimony. He speculates that the captives were taken aboard the ''Tecora'' at the notorious slave fort Lomboko. Under cross-examination, Fitzgerald admits there is no direct evidence of Lomboko's existence. As tension rises, Cinqué abruptly stands and demands, "Give us, us free!". Moved by Cinqué's emotion, Judge Coglin rules that the Africans are to be released, and that Montez & Ruiz are to be arrested and charged with illegal slave-trading. Under pressure from Senator John C. Calhoun of South Carolina, who represents the slave-holding interests of the Antebellum South, American South, Van Buren appeals the case to the Supreme Court of the United States, Supreme Court. Baldwin and Joadson visit Adams again, and after meeting Cinqué he agrees to represent the Africans before the Supreme Court. Adams' impassioned and eloquent speech convinces the court to United States v. The Amistad, confirm the judgement and release the Africans. Lomboko is stormed by Royal Marines under the command of Captain Fitzgerald, and the slaves held there are freed. Fitzgerald orders the ship's cannon to destroy the fortress, and dictates a sardonic letter to Forsyth saying that he was correct — the infamous slave fort does not now exist. Van Buren is discredited by his failure to prevent the release of the Africans, and loses the 1840 election to William Henry Harrison. The Spanish government continues to press its claim for compensation up until the American Civil War. Cinqué returns to Africa, but is unable to reunite with his family due to civil war in Sierra Leone.Cast
* Djimon Hounsou as Joseph Cinqué, Sengbe Pieh / Joseph Cinqué * Matthew McConaughey as Roger Sherman Baldwin * Anthony Hopkins as John Quincy Adams * Morgan Freeman as Theodore Joadson * Nigel Hawthorne as President Martin Van Buren * David Paymer as Secretary of State John Forsyth (politician), John Forsyth * Pete Postlethwaite as William S. Holabird * Stellan Skarsgård as Lewis Tappan * Razaaq Adoti as Yamba * Abu Bakaar Fofanah as Fala * Anna Paquin as Queen Isabella II of Spain * Tomas Milian as Ángel Calderón de la Barca y Belgrano * Chiwetel Ejiofor as Ensign James Covey * Derrick Ashong as Buakei * Geno Silva as Jose Ruiz * John Ortiz as Pedro Montes * Kevin J. O'Connor (actor), Kevin J. O'Connor as Missionary * Ralph Brown as Lieutenant Thomas R. Gedney * Darren E. Burrows as Lieutenant Richard Worsam Meade II, Richard W. Meade * Allan Rich as Judge Andrew T. Judson * Paul Guilfoyle as Attorney * Peter Firth as Captain Charles Fitzgerald * Xander Berkeley as Ledger Hammond * Jeremy Northam as Judge Coglin * Arliss Howard as John C. Calhoun * Austin Pendleton as Professor Josiah Willard Gibbs Sr. * Pedro Armendáriz Jr. as General Baldomero Espartero Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun also appears in the film as Justice Joseph Story.Casting
Cuba Gooding Jr. was offered the role of Joseph Cinqué but turned it down and later regretted it. Dustin Hoffman was offered a role but turned it down.Soundtrack
Music
The film score, musical score for ''Amistad'' was composed by John Williams. A soundtrack album was released on December 9, 1997 by DreamWorks Records.Historical accuracy
Many academics, including Columbia University professor Eric Foner, have criticized ''Amistad'' for historical inaccuracy and the misleading characterizations of the ''Amistad'' case as a "turning point" in the American perspective on slavery.Foner, EricReception
Critical response
''Amistad'' received mainly positive reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 78% based on reviews from 67 critics, with an average score of 6.9/10. Its consensus reads, "Heartfelt without resorting to preachiness, ''Amistad'' tells an important story with engaging sensitivity and absorbing skill." Metacritic calculated an average score of 63 out of 100 based on 23 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A-" on an A+ to F scale. Susan Wloszczyna of ''USA Today'' summed up the feelings of many reviewers when she wrote, "as Spielberg vehicles go, ''Amistad'' — part mystery, action thriller, courtroom drama, even culture-clash comedy — lands between the disturbing lyricism of ''Schindler's List'' and the storybook artificiality of ''The Color Purple (1985 film), The Color Purple''." Roger Ebert awarded the film three out of four stars, writing: In 2014, the movie was one of several discussed by Noah Berlatsky in ''The Atlantic'' in an article concerning White savior narrative in film, white savior narratives in film, calling it "sanctimonious drivel." Morgan Freeman is very proud of the movie, having said, "I loved the film. I really did. I had a moment of err, during the killings. I thought that was a little over-wrought. But he (Spielberg) wanted to make a point and I understood that."Box office
The film debuted at 3 on Wednesday, December 10, 1997. It earned $44,229,441 at the box office in the United States.Awards and honors
''Amistad'' was nominated for Academy Awards in four categories: Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actor (Anthony Hopkins), Academy Award for Best Original Score, Best Original Dramatic Score (John Williams), Academy Award for Best Cinematography, Best Cinematography (Janusz Kamiński), and Academy Award for Best Costume Design, Best Costume Design (Ruth E. Carter).See also
* List of films featuring slavery * Supreme Court of the United States in fiction * Trial filmFootnotes
References
External links
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