Lección antes de morir

I taped this film when it was on tv and come back to it every so often. It is very well done, superbly crafted, and the storytelling is excellent. But what keeps me watching is the performances, specifically Don Cheadles. This man is quite simply a great actor, he is where Denzel was ten years ago. Cicely Tyson remains one of our greatest assets, and the whole cast brings a sensitivity and authenticity to it that makes it sing. Worth watching with your kids, it has valuable lessons for us all.

I was required this semester to read a book by an American author and then watch at least one movie based upon the book. I chose "A Lesson Before Dying," by Ernest J. Gaines. The book was excellent and made me cry. The movie was very close to the book, with the exception that some of the scenes orders were switched up (which did not change the meaning very much), it was missing an important, but long scene (the scene's length is probably why it was left out), and a main character was completely deleted. All in all, though, a person could learn just as many things from the movie as from the book, although I still recommend reading the book. I enjoyed watching the movie, the acting was very good. Too bad this movie couldn't make it on the big screen. There are so many lessons to be learned from the unbelievable story line.

While I do not consider myself an expert in recognizing various performers, I certainly can react to good plots and to well constructed story lines. Very heartwarming to the extent that I felt obligated to try to compensate for the wrongs unfairly committed in the past. Required viewing in an American history course. A people that cares for its minorities will not condone ethnic cleansing. I certainly believe all participants of this film must feel very proud. It merits rave reviews.

I read the book not that long ago, and had been trying for some time to locate this HBO version for some time. I finally recieved it as a Christmas present and watched it. It was fantastic! Screenwriter Ann peacock and director Joseph Sargent did a fantastic job bring Ernest Gaines' novel to the small screen. It's worth seeking out!

Seen this movie when I was younger, and didn't appreciate it as much as I did with a second-viewing, maybe because I'm older and understand some more of the concepts of having dignity with injustice.

Even though the movie is a made for TV HBO movie, it has some high-quality actors like Don Cheadle and Mekhi Pheifer with solid performances that isn't overly sentimental or preachy about the morals of right and wrong and injustice of the 1940s segregated South. Instead, it's a heart-touching look at how a person can live righteously even in the face of injustice.

And kudos to the filmmakers as the scenery and even down to the accents seemed historically accurate. I felt like I wasn't watching a made for TV movie at all, well it was a HBO movie so that just shows you the high-quality that was put into it as in many HBO movies. A true must see for people that like historical movies, especially one with messages that overly preachy.