Will Smith In Antoine Fuqua’s Film About “Whipped Peter” – KristenBellTattoos.com

“Whipped Peter” spent 10 days traveling through alligator- and insect-infested Louisiana swamps to join the Union Army after escaping from the Lyons plantation in Louisiana. During his medical examination, onlookers were shocked to see raised scars on his back caused by constant whippings. When war photographers took a picture of his back, and shared it with others, it reminded white people of the evils of slavery. Anton Fukas freedom Tells the story of Peter and his blood-soaked journey to freedom. Written by Bill Collage (Exodus: God and King), the film is an unforgiving portrait of a man estranged from his family and risking his life to reunite with them.

freedom Begins when Peter (Will Smith) is sold into a work camp to build a railroad. On the journey, he sees black heads on the streets and Civil War veterans hanging from trees by their necks. What awaits him in the work camp is even worse, with constant whippings, beatings, branding and d*ath. Slaves work day and night, and sleep in cages like animals—but even though the situation is dangerous, Peter encourages others to remember that God is with them. He is then quickly reminded to look at the situation and question whether God is really there.

While on the job, Peter overhears a conversation with Confederate soldiers Leeds (Grant Harvey) and Howard (Steven Ogg) about how President Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves and that the Union Army is located in Baton Rouge. Upon hearing this news, he and the other slaves talk about escaping, but have no plan for how to do it. However, when opportunity presents itself, Peter and the other hunters run for their lives with Jim Fassel (Ben Foster). Once they reach the swamp, they find that there are more dangers waiting for them than just a bullet.

That image of “Whipped Peter” has been etched in my mind since high school. Upon entering freedom, I knew the movie was about him, but even knowing that, the movie doesn’t earn Peter’s iconic moments. It comes out of nowhere because there is no previous reference to the moment to come, not even a flashback. Someone who walks into the movie blindfolded will probably be surprised. Then again, there isn’t much time to experiment because you’ll be recovering from the relentless brutality that preceded it.

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Antoine Fuqua consistently provides an air of epicness as a director, and he captures Peter’s gaze as he wades through the swamp on his journey to Baton Rouge. However, it lacks the dynamic movement that characterizes many of Foucault’s films. freedom. Color grading colors sit somewhere between black, white, and gray, but why not use the full color spectrum? Perhaps to spare the audience from the non-stop blood and gore presented on screen during its 2 hour, 12 minute runtime.

Smith and Foster’s performances are strong and sincere. They read their lines with conviction and are committed to their character’s goals. However, these are characters that have been seen repeatedly in other films about slavery in America.

A special thing freedom Sound design. It’s very fast, especially in the scenes where Peter walks through the swamp. You can hear the insects buzzing right by your ear and the mud crunching under Peter’s feet. Everything is done deliberately and with specificity. The sound goes through your bones and adds to the “thriller” aspect of the film (if you can call that kind of film a thriller).

There is an ongoing debate about whether such films are “trauma p*rn” or unnecessary in an age where black people yearn for modern stories of other kinds of heroism. There are valid arguments on both sides: Are these types of films greenlit more often than any other film about the black experience in Hollywood? Violent savagery is a part of black American history that should be remembered and acknowledged, right?

With William N. Collage penning the script, he adds another layer of significance to an already complex conversation that digs deeper into questions about how these stories are told, and who is telling them. Is. Would it have been a different experience if the collage was black? It’s hard to say. One thing the script doesn’t do is create an unnecessary white savior narrative. Thank goodness that was left out because I was doing a lot of work based on visuals.

Honestly, the idea of ​​moving out crossed my mind many times. Not because the film wasn’t up to par, but seeing so much Black Death on screen is exhausting and painful, and that’s all I can take – even if the film has hope at the end. These types of films are fine if anything out of the ordinary. Is there anything new to expect from what the audience is going to see? Is there anything other than watching endless violence? The story of Whipped Peter and its impact on the war and the culture of American slavery still lives on today, but there must be another way to tell these stories.

There must be another way.