Movie Reviews

Stephen Spielberg’s Schindler's List is one of the most powerful holocaust films I've seen. The film is obviously about the Nazi's World War Two atrocities -- namely the 'ghetto-ization' and attempted extermination of the Jews -- but it is told from a very peculiar perspective, that of the real-life Oskar Schindler. The story begins with a nearly-penniless Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson) using his attractive self-confidence to work his way up the respectability-ranks of top German officials. He soon decides to buy out a struggling metal-works factory, and convinces a number of Jewish Germans to loan him the funds to do so (he seems almost to be doing this on a bit of a whim; I was reminded a little of the part in Citizen Kane where Charles Foster Kane buys out a newspaper because he thinks "it might be fun to run a newspaper"). As anti-Jewish sentiment was very high during this time -- the ghettos were in the process of being established -- certain Jews were willing to put up cash for this sort of an investment, as there wasn't anything else they could do to earn a living. One of these investors was Itzhak Stern (one of the best actors alive, Ben Kingsley), a man who Schindler personally sought out, knowing his reputation as a shrewd accountant.

The metal-working factory begins to operate very effectively, largely because Schindler staffs it only with ridiculously-cheap labour provided by impoverished Jews. Early on, we get the sense that Schindler is certainly not a complete anti-Semite, but that it doesn't bother him one bit that he is employing essentially slave labour, so long as it makes him lots of money. And while he rolls in the money, he continues to "befriend" top German government and army figures, including Amon Goeth (Ralph Fiennes), a really nasty general in the S.S. (he also proudly maintains status as a member of the Nazi party).

As Schindler observes the Jewish situation worsen, he becomes sympathetic, and ultimately decides to do his part to help: understanding that Jews employed in the service of the German war-economy (Schindler's factory was producing ammunition and supplies for the German army), he set about trying to register as many Jews as he could as an employee of his company, despite losing money left and right as a consequence.

The really great thing about the film is the transformation that occurs within Schindler, from a man concerned only with making money, to one concerned with trying to save just one more life, regardless of the cost. It's the great combined work of Speilberg and Neeson that makes very convincing a transformation that could otherwise have seemed awkward and contrite.

Another incredibly powerful holocaust film I've seen recently is Roman Polanski's The Pianist, which covers much of the same historical ground as Schindler's List. The Pianist stands out for me in the slightly strange way in which it distances itself from really letting you connect with the main characters. The "hero" of that film isn't really a hero at all, he's just a survivor, through whose eyes we see all the horrible things that occurred in Nazi Germany. Schindler's List is most definitely a sentimental film however, and most of its power comes from watching Schindler come to realize how much he's changed and what he's done. Knowing that it is based on a true story makes it even more moving (the same can be said of The Pianist). It's the kind of film that everyone should see.