The excellent film is Belle, a true history of the struggle of British slaves.

Director:Amma Asante

playwright：Misan Sagay

star; act the leading role： //Laura Julian-bocks/Alan McKenna//////James Northcote

type：plot of a play

Producer country/region：Britain

language：English

Release date：2013-09-08

length of a motion picture (in terms of showing time)：104 minutes

synopsis：It tells the story that Belle, a mixed-race girl, was adopted by a noble family and influenced the abolition of slavery. Belle, the heroine, is the illegitimate daughter of a British naval colonel and a Caribbean black slave, and was later married by her father’s uncle.MurrayLord adopted. Although she grew up in an aristocratic family, her dark complexion always reminds her of her origin. And she used her own strength to promote the process of abolishing slavery in Britain.

01　Profound and painful historical background

The historical events told in this film took place in England in the 18th century. At that time, Britain was a colonial trade center, and behind the rapid economic development came a painful chapter in human history — — The ugly slave trade!

　

Historical photos of slave trade

The slave trade, also known as "triangle trade", took place in the 16th-19th century. The starting point of the slave trade is Europe. Slave traders ship their own goods to Africa, where they are replaced by slaves transported from the mainland to coastal areas by local people. During the long voyage, blacks need to be stripped naked and locked under the deck, chained up with chains, and their food and drinking water are limited.

The Internal Structure of Slave slave ship

Once slaves get sick, they will be pushed into the sea immediately, so that sharks have been used to following merchant ships for hundreds of years because there are stable food sources here. They put a mark on every black slave to prevent escape. Then they were sold like animals, and then these slaves were transported to America, sold to local planters, and returned home with a lot of gold, silver, tobacco, sugar and other goods in America.

　

The living conditions of slaves under deck

This trade has undoubtedly brought a lot of wealth and capital to Europe, but it is undoubtedly worse for Africa, whose economy is already backward. For Africa, the long-term shortage of labor and population has led to slow economic development, and poverty and hunger have been sweeping across African countries. A large number of people lost, so that some West African countries did not cheer up in the next few hundred years, and many promising African indigenous civilizations were also killed in the cradle.

02　The source of inspiration for the film

The film Belle was inspired by an oil painting in Scone Palace, Scotland, in which a noble and elegant white lady was sitting under a big tree and a lively and lovely black girl was standing next to her. Writer Missan said: "I was shocked by the elegance and beauty of the black girl. There was something frank in her staring eyes, telling me something. As a writer, I feel that there is a story in it. " So after the writer Missan dug, arranged and created the story behind the photo, the story of the black girl Belle in the painting surfaced.

　

A movie clip of Belle.

Dido Belle Lindsay, the heroine, is the daughter of British Navy Colonel John Lindsay and a Caribbean slave. Although her identity is not glamorous, she was adopted by a noble uncle, but in the severe social environment at that time, her growth situation was still full of thorns, and her inferiority always followed Belle. And an important turning point to change Belle’s life mentality is an ugly page in British history — — In the insurance fraud case of the "Zonghao" cargo ship, the owner of the "Zonghao" threw 132 sick black slaves into the sea and drowned them. This incident touched Belle very much, so Belle began to use her own strength to uncover the ugly veil of the British black slave trade through the insurance fraud case of the "Zong cargo ship".

　

Turner’s landscape painting "slave ship" was inspired by the "Zong cargo ship case"

In 2007, in an exhibition commemorating the bicentennial of the birth of the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act of 1807, this painting and more information about Belle were exhibited at Kenwood Manor, an English country villa where she once lived. Misan, a female writer, once said: When we look at the history of Britain, we should realize that black people have always been here. Indeed, looking back at this 200-year history, they can be found at all levels of society. Writer Missan compiled this oil painting into a story for the world to spread, while director Amma Asante turned Missan’s story into a visual screen work and dedicated it to more audiences to commemorate this brave woman — — Belle.

A movie clip of Belle.

Director Amma Asante was born in London, England in 1969. In 2004, she won the most promising newcomer award from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts for her first film Lifestyle.

Director Amma Asante.

In addition to the role of director, she is also an actress and screenwriter, so she has a more detailed pursuit in controlling the story. It took her seven long years to find the story of Belle and Betty. As for the actor who plays the role of Belle, she chose Gugu Mabata-Law, because in this actor, Amma Asante found "Belle" in her heart.

A movie clip of Belle.

03　The strength interpretation of low-key actors

Like Belle, the British actress Gugu Mabata-Law is a mixed-race girl. My father is a South African doctor and my mother is a British nurse. Born in Oxford, England in 1983, she grew up in witney, a historic market town beside the tributary of the Thames. This girl, who was interested in singing, dancing and performing since she was a child, was admitted to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London at the age of 18. In 2009, she also appeared in the stage play Hamlet with famous British actors, which showed her extraordinary theatrical skills.

Gugu Mabata-Lao

The name Gugu Mabata-Law means "our pride" in Zulu language in Africa. Starring in Belle also brought her a new height in Hollywood. Both she and Amma Asante, the director of this film, are deeply influenced by the works of British novelist Jane Austen, and have a deep understanding of this female image that reflects 18th century Britain and struggles with social norms and contradictions.

　

A movie clip of Belle.

Gugu once showed the image of a British actor who had been trained in drama in the films he starred in. With her solid musical foundation, she also performed a charming Grammy-winning female singer in the film. In 2018, she was also awarded the British Medal of Merit in recognition of her contribution to the drama industry. UNHCR also recently announced the appointment of Gugu Mabata-Law as a global goodwill ambassador. Since 2018, as a celebrity partner of UNHCR, she has been vigorously advocating refugee rights. She also contributed to the "Hope Movie" project, which was jointly carried out by the Internet Movie Database and UNHCR to raise funds for the "COVID-19 Solidarity Appeal".

　

Gugu visited the refugee settlement in Uganda.

　

This week’s "Junlebao" lets us walk into the film "Belle" adapted from real historical events and feel the sincere power of Belle.

　

Saturday’s promotion version site

Sunday film review edition live