The Book of Negroes (2015)

Truly Dreadful Film

Captivating movie !

As Good As It Gets

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

I read the book Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill a few years ago. I loved the book. Took me a while to watch the mini-series but I just finished binge-watching it with tears flowing down my face. So very powerful. It truly makes me sick to see the revolting things white human beings have done to people not of their colour.One of the reviewers has talked about the anti-Semitism. Well, I must vehemently disagree with that person. Firstly, the two Jewish characters were portrayed in a very sympathetic light - the wife treated Aminata very well and kindly. The husband brought a reunion about with Aminata and her long lost daughter, May, at the very end. Yes, he sold May initially but he thought he was doing her a favour. So, I don't see any anti-Semitism in this min-series at all.I would love to see this book on the school curriculum everywhere. I have researched this period of history and the book/TV series stays very close to reality. Well done to all involved!

-The Book of Negroes is a miniseries based on the novel of the same name by Lawrence Hill. The six-part miniseries derives its origins from the historical document Book of Negroes and tells the story of a woman forcefully brought to South Carolina from West Africa at the time of the American Revolution. Clement Virgo and Hill collaborated on writing the miniseries, with Virgo also directing. It premiered on CBC in Canada on January 7, 2015 and on BET in the United States on February 16, 2015. -The title of the series and the novel is derived from an historical document which records names and descriptions of 3,000 African-American slaves who escaped to the British lines during the American Revolution and were evacuated by the British by ship to points in Nova Scotia as freed men. Clement Virgo and series producer Damon D'Oliveira purchased the rights to Hill's novel in 2009 and began work on a feature film script. CBC and BET came on board in 2010 to develop the feature script into a six-part miniseries. -The international co-production began shooting in February 2014 in Cape Town, South Africa. Filming also took place in various locations around Nova Scotia, Canada This included the Fortress of Louisbourg portraying 18th century New York City and Canvas Town, Lunenburg harbour portraying New York harbour and Shelburne's Dock Street appearing as historic Shelburne. Filming was completed by the beginning of June 2014. Reviews: -Metacritic which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 77 out of 100 based on 9 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews."

The book of Negroes is an inspiring story of hope and the determined will to survive whatever calamities life unfolds. Aminata's story is a human story that transcends colour, race and class. She makes the best of her situation and always has faith in the better part of humanity even when all she sees is the ugliest side of it. It is not a poor imitation of "Roots" or "12 years a slave". The book of Negroes is a story of it's own. The history surrounding the black populace of Nova Scotia is put into historical context and also presents us with the very difficult decision slaves had in regards to the fight for American Independence.

Like others have said here, I got a good bit of new information from this series, that I didn't know about before. I've always liked Ms. Ellis, especially in The Mentalist. There was a great deal of subtle artistry in her makeup as she aged. I thought the story flowed very well. But honestly, whoever cut the series should get a new pair of scissors. Maybe the network cut it so sloppily for commercials? It was completely distracting. Other than that, I was fascinated with the set direction, costumes, locations and thought the supporting cast was very good. I'd like to read a bio of Ms. Diallo now. Ridiculous that we have to write ten lines for a review. Blah.