Since I have watched it from "Twelve Years as a Slave", it happens that the "slave" actor Chivat Egarford appeared in "Broken Lock Rage", and it happened to be his debut in his acting career. In the past Oscar actor battle, his lost opponent, Matthew McConaughey, also appeared in "Broken Lock Rage", and the two were still partners in the same trench. I don't know if the two people talked about the old things together on the backstage of the Oscars.
Back to "Broken Lock Rage", this is the first work of the great director Spielberg after directing "Schindler's List". After this, his next work is "Saving Private Ryan". One after another, they have become classics in the classics, and the exclusive "Broken Lock Rage" does not seem to be so popular. But this does not mean that "Broken Lock Rage" is not good-looking, on the contrary, it is an exciting work. Moreover, the humanistic temperament is strong. It continues the compassionate sentiment in "Schindler's List" and promotes the great temperament of the United States, which can be said to be the main theme of the United States.
The United States has been able to stand for more than 200 years from its founding to the present. It really depends on the extraordinary insights of the founders of the country and the creation of a reasonable institutional structure with the hands of genius. Among them, as the second president after Washington, John Adams is one of the founding fathers. Not only is he one of the signatories of the "Declaration of Independence", he is also on par with Washington, Franklin, and Jefferson, and he has become a famous person in the history of the United States. One of the greatest. His son, John Quincy Adams, became the president of the United States after four presidents, and the father and son became the first pair of father and son presidents in the history of the United States. But in terms of political performance, as president, John Quincy Adams is a bit lackluster, far less than his contribution as Secretary of State. But this does not prevent him from having a broad vision and a great contribution to the affirmative movement. If the generation of John Adams established a civil rights government, but did not go deep and finally implement the idea that all people are created equal, then John Quincy Adams inherited the idea of his father’s generation and is working on equal rights. The movement firmly advocated the abolition of slavery and the equality of whites and blacks.
"Broken Lock Rage" is about the arduous black affirmative movement that President John Quincy Adams joined after he retired from the military. This is a true story, the film is adapted from documentary literature. It is about in 1839, a group of blacks from Sierra Leone, Africa, were arrested by slave traders and intended to be sold to the Americas. After the turnaround in the slave camps in Cuba, a black man named Xinke and more than 100 other people were taken aboard a ship named "Amistad" with the intention of selling it. This is a small ship. During its voyage, there was insufficient distribution of fresh water and food. The slave trader did not hesitate to lock 50 black people together and sink into the sea. The remaining 50 rain black people, led by Xinke, broke free from the iron rope at sea, they rose up to resist and killed most of the white people on the ship. It also intends to adjust the direction of the ship to its homeland in Africa. Unfortunately, after drifting on the east coast of the United States for nearly two months, they were intercepted by the U.S. Navy in Connecticut. And was taken to the court to accept trial in a US court.
What follows is the struggle between a group of white Americans. A group of people led by Roger Baldwin (played by Matthew McConaughey) insists that the Sinks should be free. The slave trader on the "Amistad" had evidence that these blacks belonged to his private property, while the two US navies who intercepted the "Amistad" insisted that these blacks should belong to them and the country of origin of the "Amistad" The Queen of Spain believes that the black people belong to her. They all think that these black people are slaves, and they should not be pardoned for killing people, but only slaves. In 1839, it was clearly established that the trafficking of slaves was illegal in the United Kingdom and other places. Therefore, Roger Baldwin only needs to prove that these black people are from Africa and were originally free men.
In fact, Roger Baldwin did a good job. During the first instance, the judge has tended to agree with his views and intends to release the slaves. But in order to run for re-election, the then President Martin Van Buren was unwilling to risk offending voters in southern states, so he took the risk of replacing the trial judge and disbanded the previous jury. Under the trial of a new jury and a new young judge whose political views are leaning toward the southern state, Roger Baldwin once again proved that the Sinks are free with his eloquent eloquence and strong evidence. Of course, in this process, Zink’s own efforts are also infecting Baldwin, turning him from a lawyer who only recognizes money to a supporter of a complete abolition of slavery.
However, the paradox of American politics is that despite the intervention of the President and the Secretary of State, judges and juries are re-organized. Although these newcomers are politically biased, under the powerful debates of Roger Baldwin, these biased Man, still made a judgment in line with God's will, and finally pronounced the Sinks innocent. And President Martin Van Buren, who has no hope of running for re-election, is still making his final struggle, because he knows that the raging fire of abolition in the United States has reached the brink of outbreak. Was it to save the lives of more than 50 insignificant Africans such as Zink, or to try to prevent war between the North and the South of the United States. He chose the latter. He sent the hard case to the Supreme Court, hoping to get a retrial. You know, at that time, seven of the nine people in the U.S. Supreme Court were from southern states. The result of this final review is almost hopeless for Roger Baldwin and Sinker. At this time, they had to hire the retired President John Quincy Adams, hoping that he would be the defense lawyer for this trial.
Finally, John Quincy Adams left his conservatory garden, stood on the scene of the Supreme Court trial, and issued a defense that will last forever. He followed the ideals of the founding father of the United States, further promoted the efforts of his fathers to advance the civil rights movement, and gave an insightful interpretation of the American spirit. And it was this paragraph of defense that made John Quincy Adams, who seemed weak and weak throughout the film, suddenly burst out of a tough, determined, and resolute fighter. Anthony Hopkins's performance is also particularly wonderful because of this defense. In the story, in the end, only one of the nine Supreme Court judges disagrees, and the remaining one agrees that the Sinks should be released immediately.
As John Quincy Adams said, this trial is about the fate of the United States. Even if there is a war because of this trial, it will be the last war in the United States. As he predicted, the war will start in 20 years, but it is precisely because of this war that the United States has embarked on a brand new journey, and American history has entered a brand new period.
The rare thing about "Broken Lock Tide" and "Twelve Years as a Slave" is that they happened before the Civil War, and it was all blacks who won the final victory. Although this victory may seem trivial, their significance But it is to remind more people that history requires resistance, and victory needs trivial victory after triumph. The individual victory of "Twelve Years as a Slave" is more obvious, while "The Rage of Broken Lock" is more interpretable and political metaphors are greater because of the participation of two presidents. In the end, the abolitionists won the victory and conformed more to the trend of history. Looking at them in history today, they may not feel anything, but in their age, all this will happen. It's so precious, it's not easy. That shot of bricks on Roger Baldwin's head is a clear evidence.
Of course, what has been said above is only to describe the history of internal struggles among whites from the perspective of whites. In the movie, there is a vivid impression of the black uprising leader Sinker, a black African who does not understand English at all. As a result, he shouted "Give Us Free!" in the court in substandard English. Sinker's unyielding resistance and struggle have made his image extraordinarily clear, and he has a unique artistic charm.
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