Akhilesh C.
7. A United Kingdom (2016)
Based on the adapted screenplay of Susan Williams’ book “Colour Bar”, and from the director of ‘Belle’, ‘A United Kingdom’ is set in a time after World War II (inspired by true events) and the controversies around the marriage of the then Prince of Bechuanaland (present-day Botswana) to a British White woman named Ruth. The marriage caused both domestic and international turmoil, with the involvements of British and South African Governments to end their marriage. Despite all the odds, Serestse and Ruth live their lives as a happily married couple, with Serestse winning the confidence of his people and helping create the nation of Botswana as we know it. An underrated movie with a lot of drama and power-packed performances, ‘A United Kingdom’ is a hidden gem.
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6. Brooklyn (2015)
And now to BBC’s One of the greatest films of the 21st Century, ‘Brooklyn’, set in the 1950s, revolves around Ellis, an Irish immigrant to Brooklyn. While she has moved to New York, she also has left her mother and sister behind to study bookkeeping and finding a new way of life in Brooklyn. She meets with Tony in Brooklyn whom she falls in love with and they both decide to marry. Meanwhile, her sister Rose dies of terminal illness and a troubled Ellis has to choose between her newfound love in America and staying back in Ireland. A heartbreaking tale of Ellis’ life and times and the turmoil she faces, aligning to her new ways and also her marriage, ‘Brooklyn’ is bountiful of freshness and the portrayal of the cultural shock that an independent woman had to face in the 50s.
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5. Sense & Sensibility (1995)
Perhaps a lesser known venture of Ang Lee, based on Jane Austen’s novel of the same name, ‘Sense & Sensibility’ revolves around the family of one Mr. Dashwood, who dies after leaving his fortune to his son and first wife, thus rendering his second wife and her three daughters penniless. Elinor and Marianne, two of her daughters must choose the course of their lives and their marriage sensibly, while defying societal norms and declaring their protest against deceitful yet wealthy suitors. Riveting and soulful, ‘Sense & Sensibility’ is an apt visualization of the social structure and the predominance of a male-driven cultural ideology.
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4. Amazing Grace (2006)
Set in the 1780s through the early 1800s, William Wilberforce, a politician and a Member of the British Parliament fights his way to abolish the slave trade in the country but all in vain, as he is diagnosed with Crohn’s disease (Colitis). Barbara, his wife persuades him to follow his ambition, so that the abolishment of slavery sees the light of the day, thus leading to a conclusive passing of the historic bill in 1807 which banned slave trade forever in Britain. In a historical biopic style, ‘Amazing Grace’ brings a fine balance between facts and fiction, coupled with terrific performances.
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3. Pride & Prejudice (2005)
Another Jane Austen’s marvel, ‘Pride & Prejudice’ is set in 1800s rural England, revolves around the Bennet family consisting of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet and their five daughters – Elizabeth, Jane, Mary, Kitty, and Lydia. While they have a sedentary lifestyle, a wealthy bachelor Mr. Bingley arrives in their neighborhood, along with his friend Mr. Darcy and his sister. The sole purpose of Mrs. Bennet now becomes to find worthy suitors for her daughters, as the fortune of Mr. Bennet would eventually go to his distant cousin after his demise. Jane falls for Mr. Bingley, while Lizzy for Mr. Darcy. Love and hate, marital stability and forever undermined social statuses of women form the core of this movie.
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2. Selma (2014)
Based on the face of American Civil Rights Movement and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his epic march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, in the wake of killings of five girls and his struggle to get the black people their rights to vote, ‘Selma’ is heart-wrenching to the core and reminiscent of a great leader and a visionary who was crucial to American democracy the way we know it. Set in 1965, his historic march from Selma to Montgomery accompanied with countless men and women was met with sheer violence and oppression. Not in vain, Dr. King’s campaign moved the masses and took the then U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson to pass the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
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1. 12 Years a Slave (2013)
Academy Award Winner ’12 Years a Slave’ is an epitome of sacrifice, pain, agonizing brutality, and the affliction caused by the evil practice of slavery. The narrative begins with the unlawful kidnapping of a free-born African-American man Solomon Northup a.k.a. Platt, who was later tortured, made to work as a slave in cotton plantations and as a construction laborer and then released after 12 years of his ordeal. A true story, the movie is painful to endure and is tear-jerking and heartbreaking in its entirety. Two of the notable performances of the movie apart from Chiwetel Ejiofor’s were those of Michael Fassbender as Edwin Epps, the despotic slave owner and Lupita Nyong’o as Patsey, a hardworking slave who bettered everyone else in the cotton plantation. ’12 Years a Slave’ has to be the most brutal yet realistic account of the rampant slavery in the mid-1800s and the after-effects of it which lasted for centuries, if not for decades.
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