Cheap Labor Using Undocumented Aliens

Cheap Labor Using Undocumented Aliens Schindler's List, is a 1993 motion picture based on the life of Oskar Schindler a cataloged in the book Schindler's Ark, written by Thomas Keneally. Schindler, a German businessman, employed thousands of Polish Jews in his factories to hide them from Nazi persecution. The film received seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Score and was ranked by the American Film Institute as the 8th best film of the top 100 American films of all time.

With a $22 million dollar budget, the film has surpassed all expectations by earning $321 million as of 2009 (Schindler's List, 2010). Plot -- the story revolves around Oskar (Liam Neeson) who bribes the local Nazi leader for contracts in the areas around the Polish Ghetto. Schindler is awarded a factory which produces army mess kits. Schindler, however, has no business or factory training, so turns to Itzhak Stern (Ben Kingley) who has contacts and expertise in the Polish Black Market.

Although the workers are unpaid, Schindler and Stern ensure that the documents they carry indicate they are essential to the war effort, saving them from the concentration camps. Meanwhile, SS Captain Amon Goeth (Ralph Fiennes) arrives to construct the Plazow Concentration Camp. Schindler watches the roundup and massacre through a window and is emotionally devastated, finally bribing Goeth into allowing him to build a sub-camp for his workers. Schindler evolves from a selfish and one-dimensional person to one of compassion and concern for his fellow man.

"Schindler's List" is made up of as many employees as possible, which keeps them alive. Schindler institutes firm controls over the guards and forbids torture, allows the prisoners to celebrate Sabbath, and makes sure they are given as much food as possible under the circumstances. Just as he runs out of money, the Nazis surrender, ending the war in Europe. Schindler, however, is listed under the Nazi books as a Party Member and beneficiary of slave labor.

The film ends with a touching film eulogy to Scheduler who, through his small act, ensured that a number of Polish Jews survived the war (Overview for Schindler's List, 2010). The Film- Directed by Steven Spielberg, the film is both epic and intimate in style, shot more like a documentary than a feature film.

40% of the film was shot with handheld cameras, and the small budget of $25 million required shooting to be completed in less than three months which, according to the Directory, "gave the film a spontaneity, an edge, and it also serves the subject…. I got rid of the crane, the Steadicam, and the zoom lenses…. Just everything for me that might be considered a safety net" (McBride, 1997, 429-33).

Spielberg was far more concerned, in this case, with making an artistic film than a commercial box office giant, perhaps one of his other reasons for filming without color (Corliss and Harbinson, 1994). Stylistically, the combination of documentary and what Spielberg was used to seeing in war films gives the picture a sark look -- not beautiful, not inviting, but touching nonetheless.

Filmworkers, though, are now so used to filming in color that the production designer had to redo the sets to make them darker or lighter in contrast to the actors. The costumes, as well, had to be of a different color and texture than the sets and the actors (Schindler's List - Behind the Scenes Production Notes, 2010) Music- the music is one of the more powerful elements in the picture.

Since there is little color, it is the music that provides the sense of emotion and evolution of character within the film. In a characteristic interplay between Spielberg favorite John Williams, Williams remarked that the film needed a more classically oriented composer for this score. Spielberg replied, "Yes, John, you're right, but they've all be dead 200 years." Williams' score is haunting, with violine virtuoso Itzhak Perlman performing the solos.

Williams also incorporated several Yiddish folk tunes into the score, sometimes sung by a children's choir, sometimes scored for a chamber orchestra, and sometimes interposed as a solo piece. Authentic Jewish Klezmer music was also integrated, performed by noted musician Giora Feidman on the clarinet (Rubin, 2001, 73-4). Conclusion- the film is a powerful portrait into the intimate life of someone faced with horror. It asks us the question, "what would we do?" The film shows, too, how the actions of a single human being can be so very critical for.