The first few minutes of the movie are just on the final straw being broken, and resulting in a fight that left the Spanish slave traders without a ship and under the direction of the slaves. Depictions of struggle and strife are based on a book by Barbara Chase-Riboud called "Echo of Lions" that the director, Stephen Spielberg, had read, among others. According to a movie review done by Anthony Leong, the screenwriter David Franzoni had supposedly plagiarized his writing from Riboud's book. Needless to say, the drama of plagiarism had affected the impact of the movie toward the viewing audiences.
The delicate political balance that had also been presented as the core idea throughout the movie was a very well fused reference to the mounting dispute between Northern and Southern Americans prior to the civil war. According to the actor playing President Van Buren, he expresses his concern that should he choose what would be morally good, he would also inadvertently cause a meltdown amongst the already thinly held Southern and Northern colonies.
English: Daguerreotype of U. S. President Martin V...
Film poster for Amistad (1997 film) - Copyright 19...
Director Steven Spielberg and Eric Bruno Borgman o...Should he follow what he believes in, he may cause the final tear in the country. If he should decide the fate of the Africans in favor of the Southern colonies, not only would he be going against his good moral belief's he would also cause uproar in the Northern colonies. Either way the decision is a double-edged sword.
Stephen Spielberg's wonderful details which coincide with historical reality, are quite astounding. From the detail put into every fight to the possible actual language used by that specific African tribe. Since there is only a handful of historical substance on hand to apply to the movie, Spielberg does a great job capturing the emotions and thought of every character through their already obvious...