12 Years a Slave
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12 Years a Slave

12 Years a Slave

7.9/ 10

TMDB Rating

11,900

Votes

IMDb

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2013

Release Year

134 min

Runtime

Drama
History

Overview

In the pre-Civil War United States, Solomon Northup, a free black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery. Facing cruelty as well as unexpected kindnesses Solomon struggles not only to stay alive, but to retain his dignity. In the twelfth year of his unforgettable odyssey, Solomon’s chance meeting with a Canadian abolitionist will forever alter his life.

Keywords

slavery
plantation
based on memoir or autobiography
violin player
physical abuse
black slave
usa history
slave owner
shocking
19th century
sold into slavery
abolitionist
landowner
abuse of power
african american history
harsh

Trailer

Images

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Reviews(5)

8.3avg rating
K

kineticandroid

June 21, 2014

Sometimes, I just have to stop my brain in the middle of a film and just admire its exceptional craftsmanship. I found myself doing that time and time again during this film. Perhaps I was more open to admiring the shot compositions and acting choices because, as I cynically told myself before the f

Full review
A

Andres Gomez

@tanty

May 2, 2015

8
8/10

This movie is very, very well done. Well, edited and with the proper long shots at the proper moments bringing you to the life of Solomon without remedy. All the cast performs exceptionally well and Ejiofor is to be remembered for this film. A must to be seen.

P

post_orgasmic_mood

February 20, 2017

8
8/10

Not in a long time have I seen a movie that brings out real emotions from my cold hearted soul. This movie brought them out in floods of tears. the acting was superb, especially from the lead Chiwetel Ejiofor, he acted from his little toe right up to his eyes. The style was also filmed beautif

Full review
S

Shreyance Parakh

@shiri4frnz

May 4, 2017

10
10/10

**Dreaded at the thought that human kind ACTUALLY had this kind of livelihood at some point of time..** Could not gather my thoughts to write this review at the end of the movie.Feeling really bogged down by some heaviness on my chest. Thinking about the times in history when we actually used to

Full review
CinemaSerf

CinemaSerf

@Geronimo1967

January 14, 2026

7
7/10

There are plenty of stories of slaves in the USA, but this is the only one I’ve come across where a free citizen is kidnapped and sold into slavery. It’s this latter-day people trafficking that sees successful family man Solomon Northup (Chiwitel Ejiofor) fall foul of some villains, beaten savagely,

Full review

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