The Middle Passage (Passage du milieu) (NR)

synopsis

A story told entirely through the voice-over of an anonymous dead African slave whose spirit haunts the ocean route. When he sees a little boy clad in modern clothes gazing upon the beautiful African beach, he is compelled to speak of the horrors hidden by the sea. He speaks of being sold by a brutal African prince into slavery and of sailing 18 weeks in crushing transit amid sickness and scurvy. He tells of being seized by hope with talk of revolt and plunged into despair upon meeting defeat. He talks of memories of a happy life in Africa and how the grueling journey led to his gradual and complete psychological decimation.