This is election season here in India and I felt it was a good time to go "Lincoln" a re-watch. Yes, the movie directed by Steven Spielberg which was released in 2012. I watch this film to get inspired. It's a story of one man who disrupted a tradition with more than 500 years of history. What tradition?.. Slavery. The movie must be watched by everyone. If there is one thing that the entire humanity will be guilty of forever is slavery and racism. It's unimaginable when we think how one human being can treat other with such tremendous amount of brutality just because of his colour of the skin. And it took one Abraham Lincoln to make us all realise what we were actually doing.
An explosion is heard and screen brightens. We see people with guns fighting with eachother shooting bullets and stabbing straight into the heart of the other men. Black men killing white and white me doing the same. It's the Civil war in its utmost glory. The scene ends with one man's face being stamped by few men until his face gets drowned in the wet mud below it. Abraham Lincoln will be talking with two of the black soldiers. One of the soldiers will be explained how the black soldiers won't be getting any ranks for the bravery they show in the war. Then starts Lincoln's journey to abolish slavery in the country. Facing a tremendous amount of hate and disgust, yet progressing at what he believes step by step he convinces the people of America, why this should stop.
One of the most interesting thing I like about Abraham Lincoln is that he is a storyteller. With his stories he can inspire any one to take actions. A good leader doesn't order his people to take actions, a good leader inspires his men to do so. Orders won't last in the minds of the people, because it is something without a soul. Whereas an inspiration can spark a lot imagination in the minds of people who finally feel they are a part of something that is very larger than themselves. Lincoln is an inspiration himself.
I was doing a little research on Abraham Lincoln and I saw that he was a businessman. The movie also showcases a few scenes where we can see the persuasive skill Lincoln had. Being a former salesman, has given him skills to convince and charm even the toughest of the crowd.
The ability to get into the veins of any character and enact him in the most believable way is an art only a few actors poses. Daniel Day Lewis is one of the greatest actors of Hollywood whose legacy will be remembered for ages. Most of the credit of the film should go to him. I mean, you really feel that the person on screen is Lincoln himself.
