(1997) ***

Although advertised as a monumental "retelling of an untold chapter in American history," Stephen Spielberg's "Amistad" isn't quite that earth-shattering. It's a good movie, it is entertaining, but it doesn't try to make itself into another "Schindler's List." Although many people felt this hurt "Amistad," I found it refreshing. Basically what we've got here is a courtroom drama (an encyclopedia will sum up the film for you in a paragraph as far as details are concerned), and a surprisingly good one at that (Anthony Hopkins' final courtroom speech, real event or not, is the most eloquent one I've heard in a movie). Plus, this IS the only movie version of this story as far as I know. "Amistad" starts violently but ends on a happy note, giving it the strange feeling of light entertainment at the end, despite the scenes of brutality against slaves that it shows. I suppose the final cheerful scenes were Spielberg's way of quickly summing up a fairly repetitive movie (there are several trials). Because Anthony Hopkins came to the rescue of "Amistad" right when it began boring me I came away entertained, but the movie doesn't leave a very lasting impression otherwise. (R)