The Middle Passage

Amazon.com

The first image seen in The Middle Passage is a spotless tropical beach. But this is paradise lost, and most of the remainder of this poetically harrowing feature is spent on a slave ship bound from the African coast to the New World. The purpose of Martinique-born director Guy Deslauriers is not to tell a story--there is no dialogue--but to impressionistically capture the horror of the "middle passage," the trans-Atlantic journey in human cargo. As the images of death and disease move by, they are augmented by narration spoken by an African--perhaps his voice is every slave's--on board. The fascinating narration, adapted by the novelist Walter Mosley (from the original French), is spoken in the hauntingly musical cadences of Djimon Hounsou (Amistad), and brings home the spiritual ruin of people separated from land and ancestors. This is a film not only of horror, but of sorrow. --Robert Horton

Description

It was the route between Africa and the New World that carried slaves to exchange for sugar and tobacco. It was the sea that carried a human cargo, a resting place for thousands who would not survive the journey. It was called THE MIDDLE PASSAGE.

Customer Reviews:

the greatest genocide of all - vividly brought to life.......2007-07-14

This excellent film shows the true horror of slavery vivdly to life in excruciating detail. The subject of slavery is still rarely looked at in any detail by mainstream TV or Hollywood media and with a very good reason. The world wants to just forget the fact that literally millions died for the simple reason to make money for lazy white people who professed to be "Christian". The United States was built upon slave labor, but nobody wants to talk about it too much. Unlike the Jewish holocaust of the Second World War, slavery has been put aside and largely forgotten about. Yet the fact remains that as many, and possibly more people died during the middle passage as in the concentration camps like Auschwitz. The genocide inflicted had no concern or common decency for fellow humans, because the enslavers did not consider AFRICANS TO BE HUMAN!

This film is fairly short, just over an hour, but more than gets it's point across in that timespan. The lovely cinematography adds to the dark and brooding subject. Slaves are shown in the hold of the ship, sweating in the miserable dank darkness, infested with rats, near starving and treated with contempt and brutality. All of them are longing for home and terrified of their futures.
There is no dialogue at all between the actors, but the eloquent and powerful first-person narrative of a slave's emotional turmoil and descriptions of his experiences is read over the soundtrack throughout the movie.

It's a powerful and heartbreaking insight into just what slavery was and how it must have felt to be kidnapped and sold into slavery, and the degradation and horror of what awaited them. This is a very depressing movie but a realistic one. It was depressing, ugly and inhuman. Slavery was one of the low points in the entire history of mankind and the depths of man's inhumanity to fellow man should nver be forgotten...ever.

The Middle Passage.......2007-05-07

This movie is excellent! I am an Equal Opportunity Adviser, and this movie is a great visual aide in the classes that I am required to give. Not just that, it is a fantastic history lesson. I would strongly recommend viewing this movie if you have not already done so.

Desiree Evans

OUTSTANDING!Everyone shares the blame for this mess!!.......2007-03-13

Everyone is to blame for the holocaust of millions of innocent people in the slave trade;such is the sad and sorry conclusion eloquently reached in this poetic rumination by one African manslave who endured the betrayal of HIS OWN PEOPLE into the hands of greedy Europeans who carried him and fellow Africans to The Americas.The slave route was known as The Middle Passge.What this particular man notes that what is worse?-the treatment he received by the slaveship seamen, or the abduction and genocide that he experienced at the hands of his fellow Africans? On a 120+ days voyage in deplorable conditions aboard a French Vessel, this one man speaks for the 600+ souls with him and the untold millions before and after him.MOVING,POIGNENT and MAGNIFICENTLY done by HBO and narrated by Djimon Hounsou,who was the Golden Globe nominated actor for his role as Cinque in AMISTAD.This narrative film was written by Walter Mosely of "The Devil in the Blue Dress" fame.Excellent companion films would be the current AMAZING GRACE,A RESPECTABLE TRADE,AMISTAD,ROOTS and AMISTAD:The Documentary.

A great opportunity to educate missed........2007-02-04

The rather flat narration and slow cinematography made this a difficult film to keep your attention. It is true that the slave-trading era is a dark book in human history that dates back 1000's of years and continues to this day in some cultures. The height of African slave trade to the New World was between the 17th and 18th century. I had hope this film effort would be an educational and informative film, but came across more as a grasp for pity more so than opportunity to enlighten and educate. While very loosely based in hard cold facts, much license has been taken with the facts. Many events appear to have come from numerous ships logs are compiled into one ships journey giving the impression of great suffering on a single voyage. Not to minimize the suffering that did take place on these voyages one must note that little tidbit of information for relevance. Slave ships were horrid places and the average slave had less than 2 square feet of space, less on some vessels. The treatment and mortality rate was appalling, was cramped beyond comprehension and little to no food and water during their crossing. There are many excellent writing of the period on the conditions and events on these ships and are far more informative and true to fact than this production. Primarily from the writing of inspectors that patrolled the seas after the band on slave trading in 1807 (Britain) and 1808 (US). These inspectors account the conditions, treatment and savagery on these vessels\. I would recommend those as opposed to this. Since nearly all victims of the slave trade where illiterate and had no written language little is known of their suffering from their eyes and words, so much poetic license and projection is being made as to the true events. The important point I'm making is that this is a movies is very loosely based on many real events, but it is not to be taken as literal history that would be a grave error. The opportunity to make a truly impacting informative educational film here that reflected the mistreatment and suffering of these people was missed. I would very highly recommend that if you are an educator and plan to show this film as part of a history class, please arm yourself with knowledge first as little is to be found within this work.

Not good for middle school students, better for high school.......2006-05-25

Even though this is presented as the story of a slave, it's not really set up with a plot, characters etc. My students found it hard to follow because it is lacking typical narrative elements - and it is presented more like a philosophical & reflective journey. The excessive voice-over narration and advanced vocabulary were also confusing for the students. It did not keep the student's attention. I think this is film is better suited for older students.

Average customer rating:

The Renaissance of Keisha

Manufacturer: CustomFlix
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

( R ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
ASIN: B000N0XDNS
Release Date: 2007-01-30

Description

This is a powerful dramatic presentation presented by the award wining Youth Theatre Co. of Black Spectrum Theatre under the direction of MR.Fulton Hodges that's a MUST SEE! Strong stage performances by the company take you back to an era of the Civil Rights movement many young people never get a chance to truely understand. What makes this presentation strong is that the story is from the perspective of teens during the civil rights era.

DVD:

DVD

DVD