Amistad

Updated March 8, 2022 | Infoplease Staff

Spielberg's epic, named for a doomed slave ship, opens with a magnificent sequence of human survival aboard the eponymous vessel. However, after this stunning beginning, the film unfurls with all the didacticism of a school play. Still, an inspiring, visceral performance by Hounsou as the slave leader and gut-wrenching flashbacks to life on the ship grant Amistad considerable power.