[FILM]
EMANCIPATION
★★★ OUT NOW (APPLE TV+) / CERT 15 132 MINS
DIRECTOR Antoine Fuqua
CAST Will Smith, Ben Foster, Charmaine Bingwa, Steven Ogg
PLOT 1863, Louisiana. Taken from his wife and children to work in a military camp, Haitian slave Peter (Smith) makes a daring escape through deadly swamps, pursued by slave hunter Fassel (Foster). His aim is to make it to the Union Army camp in Baton Rouge, reunite with his family — and finally earn his freedom.
SLAVERY IS A near-impossible subject matter to get right on screen. To sugar-coat it is to effectively deny history; to depict it simply as it was, warts and all, would result in a stomach-churning viewing experience. It is a delicate, sensitive road to tread, and only a few filmmakers have successfully offered new insight into one of history’s most violent, shameful chapters.