This is a drama film set in the 1840s and 1850s. It's about an African-American man who was born free in New York. He's kidnapped in Washington, D.C. and sold into slavery to work on plantations in Louisiana - until freed twelve years later.

The film is slow, boring and heavy-going. It doesn't give enough background and context for viewers who aren't knowledgeable of mid-19th century America. There's also very little about the protagonist's life before and after the twelve years that are the focus of the film.