Variety
A biographical drama steeped equally in grace and horror, it builds to a brutal finale that will stir deep emotion and inevitable unease.
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The Birth of a Nation (2016)
Sundance sensation from actor Nate Parker (Non-Stop), making his directorial feature debut with this slavery uprising drama set in 1831 Virginia.
The story follows Nat Turner, a literate slave and preacher, whose financially strained owner accepts an offer to use Nat’s preaching to subdue unruly slaves. As he witnesses countless atrocities – against himself and his fellow slaves – Nat orchestrates an uprising in the hopes of leading his people to freedom.
The film saw its release 100 years after the outdated (i.e. very racist) Civil War feature of the same name, which was an adaptation of the novel The Clansman: An Historical Romance of the Ku Klux Klan.
Less2016Rating: MA15+, Strong themes and violence120 minsUSA
DramaHistorical
The Birth of a Nation (2016) | Awards
Winner Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award at Sundance Film Festival 2016
The Birth of a Nation (2016) | Reviews
Total Film
An impressive directorial debut – and acting turn – from Parker that deserves to be seen, despite the PR firestorm.
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Time Out
What you will find is a film that toggles between impressive fury and a kind of made-for-TV blandness that does Nat Turner’s 1831 uprising — still controversial — no favors.
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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.
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Los Angeles Times
"The Birth of a Nation" certainly has the power of conviction, but the grace of art escapes it.
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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.
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Empire Magazine
An unapologetic, impassioned biopic, The Birth Of A Nation begins quietly but ends in a howl of rage. It might not be perfect, but it’s powerful enough to stay with you.
Full reviewThe Birth of a Nation (2016) | Trailers
The Birth of a Nation (2016) | Release Details
The Birth of a Nation (2016) is available to stream in Australia now on Apple TV.