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The Birth of a Nation

2016

Nate Parker

Nate Parker, Armie Hammer, Jackie Earle Haley, Gabrielle Union ...

6.2

2,540

Drama Set against the antebellum South, this story follows Nat Turner, a literate slave and preacher whose financially strained owner, Samuel Turner, accepts an offer to use Nat’s preaching to subdue unruly slaves. After witnessing countless atrocities against fellow slaves, Nat devises a plan to lead his people to freedom.

	Author	Review
United States	Justin Chang Variety	"Debuting writer-director Nate Parker stars in this searingly impressive account of the Nat Turner slave rebellion."	POS
United States	Kyle Smith New York Post	"Excellent ‘Birth of a Nation’ is already a 2017 Oscar contender. (...) a potent and stirring drama (...) a richer and more complex experience than '12 Years a Slave'."	POS
United States	A. O. Scott The New York Times	"An ambitious attempt to corral the contradictions of history within the conventions of popular narrative (...) The movie, uneven as it is, has terrific momentum and passages of concentrated visual beauty"	POS
United States	Todd McCarthy The Hollywood Reporter	"The film offers up more than enough in terms of intelligence, insight, historical research and religious nuance as to not at all be considered a missed opportunity."	POS
United Kingdom	Lanre Bakare The Guardian	"With a provocative title and a timely focus on America’s history of slavery, this is Sundance’s most talked-about film. If only it were less heavy-handed. (...) Rating: ★★★ (out of five)"	NEU
United States	Colin Covert Minneapolis Star Tribune	"The slave-revolt drama 'Birth of a Nation' focuses more on gory action than historical relevance (...) Instead of a deep, reflective parable, Parker gives us a midrange History Channel special (...) Rating: ★★ (out of four)"	NEU
United States	A. O. Scott The New York Times	"The movie, uneven as it is, has terrific momentum and passages of concentrated visual beauty. The acting is strong even when the script wanders into thickets of rhetoric and mystification."	POS
United States	Peter Travers Rolling Stone	"['The Birth of a Nation'] couldn't be more pertinent – or more powerful (...) a movie of potent provocation and surging humanity that ranks with the year's best (...) Rating: ★★★½ (out of four)"	POS
United States	Richard Roeper Chicago Sun-Times	"Parker reaches with both hands for greatness and falls short - but this is nevertheless a solid and strong and valuable piece of work (...) Rating: ★★★ (out of four)"	POS
United States	Brian Truitt USA Today	"Parker crafts the narrative in a way that immerses audiences in the heartbreaking though redemptive emotional journey of the conflicted main character (...) Rating: ★★★★ (out of four)"	POS

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