Very hard to watch!

I found this film SO difficult to watch. I wasn't expecting such brutal and gruesome scenes. The director was unflinching in portraying the life of a slave. It's not like an exploitation horror flick where the sex abuse and violence is glamorous and glorified, almost 'sexy.' This film was very hard for me to watch, to the point that I actually had to fast forward certain scenes because they made me feel a bit panicky and 'dark.'

Scenes that really brought this to the fore for me were:

* The scene where Solomon wakes up in the slave ship, chained. The confusion, fear and shock on his face was conveyed brilliantly. This is a man who goes to bed free and wakes up a slave and the extreme shift was hard to watch.

* The dehumanizing of the slaves. The casual use of 'n*****', the violence; you can really see how the spirit of a slave is created. With animal abuse, it's called 'breaking the animals spirit.' You do a similar thing to a sex slave or abuse victim, and the slaves here were so clearly broken; made passive, made hopeless, made useless even though they could easily have overpowered the slave owners. The psychology of it was so harrowing to watch unfold and gave me an insight into the psyche of a slave at the time. Solomon is clearly the protagonist but there are scenes where he turns the other cheek; when he sees the slaves about to be hung and when he ignores Patsy. I felt that this rounded Solomon's character out; he is a slave but not a saint. He is paralyzed by fear, like all the slaves he finds it hard to stand up for the others.

* Any scene with Patsy; the flogging scene, the rape, the scarring of her face. Her character was so vulnerably and exquisitely written. Every scene with her was brutal, like vandalizing a painting.

I couldn't say that I found this film enjoyable but I don't think it was meant to be. It was meant to show us what Solomon and the other slaves lifes were like. I really felt the powerlessness of the slaves. I couldn't help but wonder if I was born into this life, or forced into this life, how would I cope?

Would I try to run?
Curry favour with my master?
Would my spirit break?
Would I stay strong inside and wait for a change in circumstance?

A very powerful film and well worth seeing.