A tale of the holocaust about an enthusiastic entrepreneur who unintentionally saved thousands of Jews from a dreadful fate.
Adapted from Thomas Keneally’s book, Schindler's List goes down as one of the most powerful films in history, winning countless awards for its flawless directing, editing, and soundtrack to mention a few. Steven Spielberg, known for his equally successful films ET and Jaws, directed this 1993 black and white drama that allows us to relive the story of Oskar Schindler and the 1200 Jews that he saved in the German Holocaust. The ruling of Adolf Hitler during world war II resulted in the murder of 6 million Jews by the Nazi party who took pride in the brutality they showed within this disturbing time period. Many films have been based around the events of the Holocaust, however, there is something about the gripping tale of Oskar Schindler that sets this film aside from similar films. Alongside retelling Schindler’s story, the film illustrates some of the horrific practices that took place at concentration camps such as forcing adults to run naked in circuits and burn the bodies of fellow dead Jews.
Liam Neeson portrays the challenging role of Oskar Schindler, a confident and charismatic industrialist who at first, puts his sole interest into earning as much profit as he can from his factory by exploiting Jews. However, we see Schindler’s intentions change throughout the film as he realizes that his business is saving hundreds of lives from being taken without logical reason. The change in Schindler's intentions is illustrated creatively with the recurring scenes where hundreds of Jews say their names in order to be checked off of a list. At the beginning, the list is to be checked into the Ghettos however by the end they’re of people who were employed at Schindler’s factory. We see a huge change in Schindler as he and Stern re-create the list of over 1200 Jews who worked at his factory once he realizes how many people he could save. When he has to flee from the factory due to his association with the Nazi party, he breaks down into Stern's arms repeating “I could’ve saved more” as his workers comfort him with gratitude, making this scene one of the most powerful in the film.
Although most of the film is shot in black and white to give it a timeless feel, there are two scenes that include a little girl in a red coat who is a symbol for so many victims of the Holocaust. As Schindler and his wife watch over the brutality and murder being carried out in their hometown the camera tracks the little girl from their perspective as she walks through these horrific events, alone, whilst William’s incredible melancholy symphonies are heard in the background. We later can assume this little girl's death at a concentration camp when Schindler once again sees that red coat on a pile of dead bodies ready to be burnt. Every little detail in these two scenes is so well thought out and could alone justify the reason that this film won an academy award for best picture.
Hiring 20,000 extras for the film, Spielberg was able to realistically show some of the horrific ways that Jews were treated in concentration camps. When the women are accidentally taken to Auschwitz instead of Schindler's factory, we watch them sob as their hair is cut off and they strip in order to enter what initially looks like a gas chamber. This scene is delicately timed in order to show the raw emotions of fear and sadness felt by so many Jews in their last moments as they shake in a state of complete terror. Even more, intensity is built when the lights go out and there is a hard wave of sickening screams until we see the heart-breaking relief when it turns out to be water coming out of the showers.
The remarkable acting skills of every extra in this scene not only allows the audience to see the emotions in these moments but also feel them which is something that every actor and filmmaker wants to achieve. In the final scene, Kahn uses seamless editing to present some of Schindler’s Jews who were still alive over 40 years later. As the surviving Jews from Schindler's factory walk over the hill to find a village with food and water the shot fades into a coloured shot of some of the real-life survivors such as Helen Hirsch, Itzhak Stern, and Poldek Pfefferberg. This is then followed by an ongoing shot of the survivors partnered with their actor placing stones on Schindler’s grave as an act of gratitude and appreciation of his efforts to save innocent Jews in the war. We can also see that there is a long line of generations from Schindler’s Jews that emphasizes the point “Whoever saves one life, saves the entire world”.
If you are looking for a historical drama, then this film is definitely worth a watch regardless of how much you know about the Holocaust. To be able to see the events through the medium of film is a very insightful experience and allows you to understand a lot more about the pain and fear that the victims must have felt during these depressing times. I would therefore give this film 5 stars on account of its impeccable narrative and ability to evoke emotions like no other.
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