【電影簡介】

1841年，所羅門·諾瑟普（切瓦特·埃加福特飾）是一個木匠兼小提琴手，與妻兒生活在紐約州的薩拉托加斯普林斯。后來兩個白人（分別由斯科特·麥克奈利和泰倫·基勒姆飾）以給他提供一個在馬戲團伴奏表演的機會為由，把所羅門騙到了華盛頓賣為黑奴。

所羅門被改名為“普拉特”，一個從喬治亞州逃跑的奴隸。他被特奧菲盧斯·弗里曼（保羅·吉亞瑪提飾）賣給了種植園主福特先生（本尼迪克特·康伯巴奇飾）。所羅門與福特先生相處融洽。他修建的運輸水渠工作效率高，福特先生為了表揚送了他一把小提琴。但是這惹來了木匠約翰·提畢茲（保羅·達諾飾）的記恨，開始對他惡言相向。提畢茲勾結朋友要對所羅門處以私刑，昏迷的他被福特先生救下。福特先生說他要想活下去，就必須把所羅門賣給埃德蒙·艾普斯（邁克爾·法斯賓德飾）。他想告訴福特先生其實他不是奴隸，但是福特先生說“我不能聽你說這個”，“他有債要還”，身不由己。

艾普斯相信虐待奴隸是被圣經所允許的，奉勸他們接受所謂的宿命。他要求每個奴隸每天必須采200磅棉花，否則便會挨打。帕特茜（露皮塔·尼永奧飾）每天能采超過500磅的棉花，艾普斯經常表揚她，對她一直不懷好意。艾普斯夫人（莎拉·保羅森飾）非常嫉妒，在艾普斯先生當眾說如果他受人威脅他寧可選擇帕特茜而非妻子之后，一有機會她就會暴戾地虐待帕特茜。

多次被艾普斯先生強奸，欲自尋短見的帕特茜向所羅門求助，但是他拒絕了。艾普斯認為新來的奴隸帶來了棉花蠕蟲，他把這些奴隸租給了鄰近的糖料種植園。糖料種植園主人很喜歡所羅門，還允許他在結婚周年紀念典禮上演奏提琴，并且還給了勞動報酬。回到艾普斯莊園以后，他想用這些錢讓請兩個白人寄一封信給他在紐約州的朋友，他們表面上答應了他的請求并收了錢，背地里卻告發了他。所羅門勉強的讓艾普斯相信了他，最后他只能悄悄的燒掉這封信，他唯一的希望。

有一天，艾普斯因為到處都找不到帕特茜而暴怒，等她回來以后，艾普斯命令把她綁起來，逼迫所羅門鞭打帕特茜， 所羅門無奈只能服從，但他實在無法繼續，艾普斯接過鞭子繼續直到帕特茜全身血肉模糊。帕特茜漸漸康復，所羅門和來自加拿大的木匠巴斯（布拉德·皮特飾）一起建造露臺。巴斯反對奴隸制，所羅門很信任他并向他請求幫助，希望他能寄一封信到薩拉托加斯普林斯。起初，巴斯認為這回威脅到他自己的生活所以并沒有答應，但善良的他還是同意了所羅門的請求。

紐約州州長和另一個人來到所羅門所在的莊園，并點名要找所羅門，州長詢問了所羅門一些有關他以前生活在紐約州的問題，所羅門認出州長的同伴是他認識的一個薩拉托加的店主，這個人就是來解放他的。盡管艾普斯依然不相信，帕特茜也非常驚訝，離開之前所羅門給了帕特茜最后的擁抱。在為奴12年后，所羅門重獲自由回到了自己的家。

【音頻文本】

There is so much about this year's Golden Globe winner "12 Years a Slave" that shows why it deserves universal acclaim.

First and foremost, it is in itself a fairly good movie to begin with.

Story-wise, it is based on, and strictly faithful to, Solomon Northup's 1853 memoir of the same name. The book offers an account of 19th century America's slavery system, from the perspective of a free Negro soldto slavery. Unlike Quentin Tarantino, in his 2012 film "Django", director Steve McQueen doesn't take the subject for granted and instead allows the viewers to learn about the dark side of American history from a freshman's point of view; much like Solomon himself in the story.

Next, Steve McQueen's determination to uncover the sinister past from under the carpet is given strong support from the cast. Lead actor Chiweltel Ejiofor may have lost out on a Golden Globe this week to Matthew McConaughey for his role in Dallas Buyers Club, but he does convey a memorable image of a freeman being forced to slavery. During the two hours, we follow him around on the big screen, fear his fears and dream his worst dreams. Some of these fears and dreams are delivered in person by none other than Michael Fassbender as the slave owner Edwin Epps. He's tried his best, though he isn't good enough to compete with the most dedicated actress Lupita Nyong'o. The latter's character of a young female slave seems to carry upon herself all the burdens of an inhumane system.

And of course the skills of the cast are amplified by the powerful imagery captured by cinematographer Sean Bobbitt. It is a pretty lengthy movie that runs for more than two hours, but I don't think anyone would be able to forget one particular scene half way into the film, where Solomon is hung against a tree. That long take alone contained enough fear and cruelty, so much so that it at least partly explains why slaveryexisted in the southern part of the United States for so long, and why it was abolished eventually.

One more explanation for the movie's success is perhaps the fact that few people are willing to question McQueen's work, because those who actually do so would need a lot of courage. However, black Canadian author Orville Lloyd Douglas is one of the very few courageous critics. And here I quote what he said from the Guardian: "I'm convinced these black race films are created for a white, liberal film audience to engenderwhite guilt and make them feel bad about themselves. Regardless of your race, these films are unlikely to teach you anything you don't already know."

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