12 Anos de Escravidão - Kritiken

...a somber, meditative, almost poetic film that delivers the horrors of bondage stripped down and head-on.

...McQueen has constructed another intensely physical character study about a man trapped in his own flesh.

Stark, visceral and unrelenting, 12 Years a Slave is not just a great film but a necessary one.

Occasionally, McQueen holds on imagery to create an almost abstract metaphorical beauty...

Amerikas mörka hjärta – sensationellt och banbrytande om slaveriet. 12 years a slave är en av årets starkaste ­filmer och bygger på en slavs självbiografi. ­

...et prægnant historisk statement om det mørkeste kapitel i USA’s historie: Slaveriet.

...12 Years a Slave er en noget nær komplet film om uhyrlighederne mod medmennesker i en periode i den amerikanske nations liv, som ikke ligger så langt tilbage.

Brutal yet elegant, 12 Years a Slave is a beautifully rendered punch to the gut about the most shameful chapter in American history.

One of Britain’s greatest living filmmakers offers an outraged, intense and artful examination of American slavery.

...ett litet mästerverk inom genren. En framtida klassiker.