12 Years a Slave · written by John Ridley and Steve McQueen · 2013

Solomon sketches a water route that could reduce timber transport costs; Ford agrees to let him clear the creek despite Taydem’s doubts.

Scene 105 of 211 · ≈ 1 min on screen · Act two

Solomon
Taydem
Ford

Act oneAct twoAct three

Begins 1:02 into a 2:22 film

The story so farBefore scene 105

After being kidnapped from New York and sold into slavery, Solomon Northup uses his skills and carefully placed trust to survive and seek a way back to his family.

Scenes 1–29
Solomon lives freely in Saratoga as a husband, father, worker, and musician.
Scenes 30–65
Kidnapped and held under the imposed name Platt, Solomon must preserve his life and identity.
Scene 86
Ford takes Solomon, Harry, and Eliza from Freeman; Eliza is dragged away from Emily, committing Solomon to plantation life and its family separations.
Scene 87
Ford brings Solomon and the other captives into plantation life; Solomon must survive within a system that denies his identity.
Just before
Scene 102
On the road to the mill, Walton’s wagon stops for a group of Chickasaw travelers; the two groups regard one another across the road.
Scene 103
The Chickasaws share roasted deer and a pipe with the workers, then play and dance; Solomon is drawn to their fiddle music before leaving the gathering.
Scene 104
At the river, Solomon watches a reed float upstream, then wades into the creek as he considers its current.
Scene 105
This scene

105EXT. FORD'S MILL - DAY

Just beyond the mill Solomon speaks with Ford as Taydem listens. Solomon is drawing in the dirt, making rough diagrams for Ford as he explains himself.

SOLOMON

The creek is plenty deep enough to

sail, even with a boat full of

load. The distance from the mill

to the point on the latter bayou

is several miles by water fewer

than land. It occurs to me that

the expense of the transportation

would be materially diminished--

TAYDEM

"Materially diminished?"

SOLOMON

If we use the waterway.

TAYDEM

It's a scheme, Ford. Visionary,

but a scheme. Plenty of engineers

have schemed similarly. The

passes are too narrow.

SOLOMON

I reckon them at more than twelve

feet at their most narrow. Wide

enough for a tub to traverse.

Appears narrower to the eye;

mostly obstructed by tree trunks.

A team of niggers can clear it

out.

TAYDEM

And you know what of transport and

terra formin'?

SOLOMON

I labored repairing the Champlain

canal, on the section over which

William Van Nortwick was

superintendent. With my earnings

I hired several efficient hands to

assist me, and I entered into

contracts for the transportation

of large rafts of timber from Lake

Champlain to Troy. During the

season I became perfectly familiar

with the art and mysteries of

rafting.

FORD

(drily witty)

Pity his qualifications exceed the