Steven Spielberg
Lincoln

The bloody American Civil War marked the end of an era, opposing the Northern Union and the secessionist Southern states between 1861 and 1865. In September 1862, Lincoln announced that as of January 1863, the slaves would be free forever. However, only the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution (a central point of the film), ratified in December 1865, would allow the abolition of slavery across the entire United States. Over four million slaves gained their freedom, but at the same time, much less than they had hoped for, as they had to wait another hundred years to achieve true self-determination.

After Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan, "Lincoln" is another historical account by Spielberg. The film depicts the last four months of his presidency, centering on the struggle for equality for all people, regardless of color and race. It portrays him as a skillful negotiator in his efforts to pass the abolition of slavery in the United States.

The director has undoubtedly achieved his objective of painting a portrait of Lincoln’s great personality, a president who fights tenaciously in a key moment in U.S. history, a lesson in history that explains how politics is riddled with intrigue, corruption, and under-the-table deals, confirming it to be a “dirty” business. Spielberg has crafted a technically perfect film, didactic and impeccable in its visuals. As expected, he also selected an exceptional cast, and both Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, and Tommy Lee Jones are flawless. The director follows a stylistic purism, minimizing even the president's assassination, a deliberate choice that allows him to create a realistic film, neither pompous, nor celebratory, nor biased... but one that leaves doubts.

While some may find it interesting to follow the machinations and pressures to secure the votes needed to pass the reform, for others, it is difficult to get involved in the events. Much of the two-and-a-half-hour film gets lost in interminable political discussions and verbal clashes. Apart from rare battle scenes and brief glimpses of family life, "Lincoln" takes place in the rooms of the White House and Congress. Rivers of words about rights and parliamentary disputes serve to create the climax for the main scene, the vote for the amendment's ratification. Compared to Schindler's List, it is much less agile and thrilling, with an overabundance of dialogue that makes it difficult to digest. Beyond the merits I've noted, the film fails to evoke emotion, and I didn't feel any need for a treatise on American historiography.