African slaves seize control of the vessel transporting them to Spain in 1839. Two surviving Spanish crewmen steer the ship to America, where the slaves are imprisoned for killing their captors - but an abolitionist lawyer argues the case for granting them their freedom. Steven Spielberg's historical drama, starring Anthony Hopkins, Morgan Freeman, Matthew McConaughey, Djimon Hounsou, Nigel Hawthorne and Pete Postlethwaite