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12 Years a Slave tipped as 'The new Schindler's List'

But some audience members walked out of Steve McQueen's controversial movie.

Steve McQueen's upcoming adaptation of Solomon Northup's memoir has divided audiences at the Toronto International Film Festival, though some critics have dubbed it "the new 'Schindler's List'"

The movie, which tells the story of free black musician Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor) who is kidnapped during a trip to Washington D.C in 1841 and sold into slavery in the deep south, received a mixed reaction due to its violent scenes and controversial subject matter.

[Ejiofor: Award hype is just gravy]


The TIFF screening saw some viewers leave at seeing slaves being beaten, tortured and killed, while others awarded the director and stars a 10-minute standing ovation.

Lead actor Ejiofor is adamant that the brutality is necessary to tell the story. "Solomon's story is full of [violence] but also full of beauty and hope and human respect and dignity," he said. "With Steve there to guide it, we weren't afraid to explore all that, and go to those dark places."




McQueen's cast includes Benedict Cumberbatch and Michael Fassbender as plantation owners with very different attitudes toward their workers, while Brad Pitt (who also produced the film) plays Canadian carpenter and abolitionist Samuel Bass, who helps Northup regain his freedom.

The film is already being compared to Stephen Spielberg's seminal Schindler's List, while Oscar nominations are expected for McQueen, Ejiofor and Fassbender.

Whether the general public will be able to handle the harrowing nature of the movie remains to be seen, but for the film's director, it was a tale that had to be told.

"I wanted to see that story on film," he said. "It’s obvious. But it’s that simple."



12 Years a Slave comes to UK cinemas on 24 January, 2014.