Lesson 30: The Birth of a Nation – Review

The Filmlosophers, Eddie Villanueva and Chad Riley, discuss the film that everyone has been talking about since its debut at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, The Birth of a Nation (2016). Directed by and starring Nate Parker, the film hosts an incredible ensemble of actors, including Gabrielle Union and Armie Hammer. The Filmlosophers discuss the merits of the film, which chronicles the journey of Nat Turner, a literate slave and preacher in the antebellum South, who orchestrates an uprising. How do The Filmlosophers view this period film whose director and star has been shrouded in recent controversy?

News items include our reaction to the first trailer for Passengers (2016), starring Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt; first impressions of M. Night Shyamalan’s latest, Split (2016); and an early look at Denzel Washington’s next turn as director and star in Fences (2016), a film adaptation of the famous August Wilson play also starring Viola Davis. All that, and we count down some of our top 5 Oscar winning films.