Beloved

Directed by Jonathan Demme (The Silence of the lambs, Philadelphia), “Beloved” is adapted from Toni Morrison’s Pulitzer Prize and Nobel Prize winning novel. “Beloved” is the story of Sethe (Oprah Winfrey), a free black woman living in Ohio in the 1870s, trying to come to terms with her violent and brutal experiences as a slave to white land owners. Sethe’s history is revealed in a series of brief flashback sequences: her rape, torture, escape, birth of her children, and witnessing of despicable deeds wrought upon her family. Living with her young daughter, Denver, Sethe is visited by a friend from the past Paul D (Danny Glover). Paul and Sethe were slaves on the same plantation and share knowledge of the evil wrought upon each other and their families. Paul and Sethe seek a kind of peace together, cautiously unburdening their darkest memories. Into Sethe’s house one day, arrives the mysterious, beautiful Beloved (Thandie Newton) a young woman who has, by turns, a menacing and sweet demeanour. Beloved strikes a bond with Sethe and Denver, whilst resenting Paul. Sethe seeks to understand the meaning of Beloved’s presence in her life, and to reconcile her personal demons.