What makes it different from others?

To me, this movie is perfection.

Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

It's 1864. Burrell is the harsh leader of a gang of bounty hunters tracking down runaway slaves. Will is a 13-year-old negro who is used as bait and spy to uncover the underground railroad. He relies on his uncle Marcus who is Burrell's slave. Burrell is looking for Nate who is digging graves for the Federals near Petersburg. Marcus and Will set off across the lines and trick Nate by telling him that his brother is dying. He agrees reluctantly to join them back across the lines but he doesn't really trust the two strangers.This starts with a compelling, murky, complicated relationship between Burrell, Marcus and Will. I would have loved to stay with the three of them together. The road trip offers some interesting complications of its own. However, it's not as great as the opening fifteen minutes. Nevertheless, it's an unusual compelling journey.

Not often does a film focus so strongly on the complexities of one character, especially without seeming contrived or over done. This film has a simple plot, and the dilemma the young boy Will faces is straightforward, but it is played so genuinely and movingly. We learn so little of his past and yet even within the first few minutes of the film you are standing in his shoes. At first unquestioningly accepting his tenuous grip on life as he is surrounded by death and desperation, soon this develops into a profound study of the price of freedom for those who apparently have none, and how relationships with others can give freedom a value greater than life itself. The end is not necessarily a surprise (after all, he can only choose one way or the other) but the point is really the journey he makes and the changes within him as he begins to understand and grapple with his choice. The character Nate was also compelling and believable. The film feels historically authentic and is more original than most others about the plight of slaves. For this reason I preferred it to 12 years a slave. My only criticism is that some of the dialogue is poorly recorded. Outstanding.

I sort of wanted this to be a lot better. It's definitely not a bad film, but it did test my patience together with the fact that it's not really doing anything all that original. Comparisons to 12 Years A Slave are bound to come up, and while the general setting is the same in terms of atmosphere (of course) it's really not the same film at all. The acting here is really good, even if so many of the characters come off as caricatures. Yeah, after the reviews I just wanted this to be better, but as it is, it's not bad. I think it's good, if just that, but the cinematography is really good for an indie and the overall production is too. The script has problems, but that's not entirely surprising.

The rich, complex themes in this film gave me a heaping, helping of food for thought. I left the film with greater compassion for the hard lives some of us are born into. Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation was issued in 1863. It hasn't been long since our fellow Americans lived as slaves. We, their recent descendants, have a long way to go to fully appreciate this history. This is the kind of story that moves us forward.In the film, the will to survive fights with the powers of love and goodness. In less dramatic ways, these are our daily conflicts. I was deeply moved by the film's complex ending. I will be thinking about it for a long while. The actors are completely believable. The main characters were neither heroes nor villains. They were complicated, like us. It's one of the best films I've ever seen.