The film begins with a somewhat gruesome close-up of a pair of fingers clawing through wood and pulling out a spike. This is Cinque (Djimon Hounsou), an enslaved African who with his comrades takes over the ship Amistad, killing most of the crew. When they attempt to return to Africa, they get lost, and are eventually captured by the US Coast Guard.
The mutineers became bones of contention after being detained by the authorities. Various groups dispute their ownership, while a pair of abolitionists (Morgan Freeman, Stellan Skarsgard) attempt to have them set free with the help of a property attorney (Matthew McConaughey). The administration of President Martin Van Buren (Nigel Hawthorne), however, is adamant on having the slaves returned to the prepubescent Queen of Spain (Anna Paquin). The abolitionists are fortunate, however, in being able to prove through property law that the men are not slaves, but stolen property.
The case goes to the Supreme Court, where it is up to former President John Quincy Adams (Anthony Hopkins) to argue passionately for the enslaved Africans. As you can tell from this plot summary, most of the film depicts either courtroom proceedings or people preparing for court. As such, the film is often unfortunately static.
The courtroom scenes are entertaining enough, but they aren't really Spielberg's thing. He is so much more a visual director than can be directed in long interior scenes. The best scenes in the film end up being the initial ones aboard the Amistad and Cinque's narration of his life story. These are horrifying, sometimes surreal images, equal to the most harrowing in Schindler's List and the underrated Empire of the Sun.
Of course, it could hardly be a Spielberg film without a few scenes with a terminal case of the cutes. In several scenes, the speech of the Africans is subtitled. Inevitably, the translation is always something like "Are these white people mad?" While translations like that were funny in The Gods Must Be Crazy, here they are trite and patronizing.
Then there is Cinque's infamous "Give us free" scene. Not that the dialogue (which, unfortunately, is historically accurate) isn't schmaltzy enough, but the scene is lit to make Cinque look like every Hollywood cliche" Holy man". Of course, John Williams does not restrain himself with the music at this point, as he composes in a sickening blend of New-Age world music. Diabetics, beware.
It is a mixed movie, but ultimately a success, thanks in part to the excellent production values. Portrayal of pre-Civil War America is rare on film and thus, very welcome here. The art decoration and costume design are particularly fine, although Janusz Kaminski's cinematography is a bit too vivid for such brutal subject matter. John Williams is more palatable in his "Aaron Copland" mode than his "World music" one, though overall, this is his most derivative score in years. Hopkins is at his most squirrelly as Adams, though he pulls off a long and difficult summation. Pete Postlethwaite does his usual evil job as the prosecuting attorney. The casting also gives underappreciated character actor David Paymer the prime role of Secretary of State Forsyth. Above all, however, Djimon Hounsou is a revelation as Cinque. He is a force of nature as the enslaved African, crushing all the old film cliches about slavery.
Like most serious Spielberg films, Amistad is flawed but fascinating. One waits with bated breath for his World War II epic, Saving Private Ryan.
Three-and-a-half stars
Copyright 1998 by Dale G. Abersold
