I must say that I was not planning to see this movie at all. However, seeing this movie was life changing and inspirational. Visually, historically and musically the film is stunning. There aren't enough Oscars in Hollywood for this film. The story told was raw and real and unfiltered and felt as though I could really associate with the pain of the slave experience. It wasn't a superhero adaptation about a black man's psyche, Roots, or a textbook documentary. Rather, Twelve Years A Slave is that dream you have about real life events, that causes cold sweats, intense breathing and heart pounding because you are reliving a past that you have learned to skillfully suppress. Words can not explain how much this movie touched me as I found myself praying for the characters on screen as we witnessed their struggle, as if my prayers could alter the reality of the movie! This movie is so much more than race and should be seen by all people no matter the race and widely released to theaters everywhere!