Director: Steven Spielberg
Year: 1993
Country: U.S
Language: English
I first saw Stephen Spielberg's Holocaust epic in grade eight during a class about the Holocaust. We were pre-warned about the violence, shocking scenes & nudity in this film and were given permission slips that our parents had to sign in order for us to be allowed to watch it. This "permission slip" didn't deter me from being interested in Schindler's List, infact it made me more intrigued. I was glued to the screen, while other classmates turned away during the sadder or scarier scenes of the film, I continued staring. This was an important film with a story that needed to be told. It might be shocking, but it's history, it's the Holocaust! How can you make a film about the Holocaust that doesn't shock people? However disturbing this film is, it is much more inspiring. It gave me a new found hope in humanity and the thought that good is still capable of conquering evil.
Many cause Steven Spielberg for making a Holocaust film that is either too optimistic or too commercial. Many condemned him for trying to make such a tragedy into a Hollywood production. The Studio executives wanted him to make a donation towards Holocaust survivors instead of "wasting everyone's time and money to make an extremely depressing film." While these concerns plagued Spielberg, he waited 10 years to make Schindler's List, because he wanted to take the film extremely serious. The commercial value of a Spielberg film allowed Schindler's List to be seen by millions of people, and the knowledge about the atrocities that happened to be more common knowledge. While the holocaust itself seems almost impossible to tell by way of film, because of how tragic it was, Spielberg managed to make it work and make it inspiring. It tells us that resistance to great evil is not only possible but it can succeed. Good can vanquish evil. It is a story that NEEDS to be told. It keeps us out of a pit of despair and sadness, and gives us the realization that there is great hope in the world.
While Schindler's List is known as a Holocaust film, it seems that the Holocaust is merely the setting in which this film takes place. The real story is of two men, Oscar Schindler and Amon Goeth, created by the many opportunities of war. One is a con man, the other is a sociopath. Their lives are parallel, but their minds are polar opposite.
The key to the film's success is the incredible character development of Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson). Schindler is a man who had no great success before or after World War Two. He used the tragedies that surrounded him to run a factory and save over 1,000 Jews who would have likely been executed otherwise. He never fully admits that he's trying to save the Jews, at least until near the end. Schindler is a con man, but he's on our side, running factories that do nothing to help in the Nazi war effort. At the beginning of this film he has a real child-like attitude about life. He wants to have fun, he wants to womanize, It's all innocent fun and games to him, as he has no real idea about what the nazis have done to the jews.
The death of the girl in the read coat, the only use of color in this film, represents Oskar Schindler's loss of innocence. It is his turning point. He can no longer deny the destruction of the Jews by the Nazi regime, he can no longer deny that what he has been doing since that point has been wrong. He feels a great sense of shame because he has been profiting from the death of millions The full horror of the Holocaust is upon him, and though it is possible to ignore it, he realizes that it's not the right thing to do. He MUST help them or it will forever be on his conscious. Schindler's new game is not to make money, but to save as many Jews as he can. His new rival is Amon Goeth.
Amon Goeth (Ralph Fiennes) is an insane sociopath. Though he is a one dimensional villain, it is necessary for him to be that way. If he were merely a German citizen who had to follow his orders or be sent to a death camp the character would distract from Oskar Schindler's main story.Goeth is Hitler's willing executioner, a man who kills for fun rather than because his job depends on it. If something goes wrong during the day he lines Jews up in a row and shoots them at random. He feels that shows power, his power to kill gives him great happiness. He stands on his balcony and shoots not only men but women and children as well. He proves that the nazis don't have any sane rules, this makes people feel very hopeless. Indeed there were many real Nazis who would go out of their way to make Jews feel without hope of insane. Some would have Jews carry heavy loads of stuff from one side of the camp to the other, only to have them bring the same load back and forth all day. This lack of purpose would drive them to insanity.
While Schindler's List shows us a bit of how the Holocaust operates, it does not go into great detail. It seems impossible to explain why people hate each other, or why one race would attempt to annihilate the other. Equally hard is to attempt to understand the mind of a man who chooses to destroy rather than to create. However, it happens and may continue to happen throughout History. Spielberg does not attempt to understand evil, but it shows that we can, and have, overcome evil. It shows us that evil men can change. The United States has had a history of genocide against certain races, most notably the Native Americans, but they have had the will to turn around and ask for forgiveness. Forgiveness and change is possible.
Oddly, I found some humor in this film. I was deeply sad yet I found some scenes so absurd that I couldn't help but laugh. The scene when Oskar kisses a Jewish girl and suddenly everyone awkwardly stars at the man is an example. You can either laugh at the absurdity or cry. Oscar Schindler is a Christ-like man, the ending is incredibly powerful. "I could've done more!" I aspire to be like Schindler, a man who helps mankind even though it might be easier to look the other way. Another powerful scene is the one shortly after this, in which they are liberated. They walk into the horizon, displaced. It reminds me of the Moses story, the Jews have been freed from their oppressors are wandering the desert once more. The scene progresses from black and white to colour. These are now the living Schindler's Jews. Not actors, but the real deal.
In conclusion, like Oskar Schindler's list this film is an absolute good. It is essential because it educates people about the horrors of our past. It is essential because it gives hope when there is almost no hope to be found. I'm glad that Spielberg stepped away from his usual family films to create such an important masterpiece. Stories about the Holocaust NEED to be told, because it might help mankind to prevent such atrocities in the future. It will also prove that the people who died in the concentration camp didn't die for nothing. Educate yourself and see this film. Praise it! 5/5
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