Movie Review: Schindler\'s List

Schindler's List is based on the novel by Thomas Keneally, with the film released in the United States in December 1993. Directed by Steven Spielberg, the movie includes a cast of stars including Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Kingsley, Caroline Goodall, Jonathan Sagalle and Embeth Davidtz. It was produced by Steven Spielberg, Gerald R. Molen and Branko Lustig, with screenplay by Steven Zaillian, cinematography by Janusz Kaminski and music by John Williams.

Schindler's List was the winner of seven Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor for Liam Neeson, Best Supporting Actor for Ralph Fiennes, Best Screenplay, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing and Best Original Score for John Williams. Further accolades include winning seven British Academy Awards, winning the Best Picture Award from the New York Film Critics Circle, winning the Hollywood Foreign Press Association Golden Globe Award and Spielberg winning the Directors Guild of America Award for directing the film.

Film Overview

The film is set in Poland in World War II, at the time when Poland was occupied by Nazi's. The primary theme of the film is the events of the Holocaust and the persecution of Jews. The central character is Oskar Schindler, played by Liam Neeson, a Nazi businessman who recruits Jews to work in his factory, saving them from death in doing so. While he begins the film recruiting the Jews only for his own needs, by the end of the film he is actively trying to save them, and saves the lives of over 1200 Jews. The film is essentially about the Holocaust, presenting the horror and truth of the holocaust to a modern audience by combining a number of stories into a film. The end result is a film that presents the human side of the Holocaust in all it's tragic reality.

The Story Told

Schindler's List does not tell only one story but combines several. The first story told is that of Oskar Schindler, the Nazi businessman who became a hero, saving over 1200 Jews. Schindler is not your typical hero and has few heroic qualities. He is a shrewd businessman, best at lying, bribing and cheating and is also a womanizer and an alcoholic. In the film, we see this Nazi who is using the Jews only as they are cheap labor for him, change into a man who is willing to risk his life to save these Jews. These are the heroic actions of an unheroic character. The general plot of the film is about the changes that Schindler goes through.

The second story in the film is the presentation of the horror of the holocaust. The movie is based on real events and the film ensures that the horror of this period of time is not lost on the viewer. It shows how the Nazi's yielded their power and how the Jews were cruelly slaughtered, the tragedy of these real historical events becoming quite clear.

The third story is that of Amon Goeth, a Nazi commander with intense hatred for Jews. Even with this hatred, he falls in love with a Jewish housekeeper, Helen Hirsch. We see his intense hatred for Jews as he lashes out at Hirsch, disgusted by his own behavior as much as anything. Goeth gives a human face to the Nazi cruelty. Rather than seeing the people who persecuted the Jews only as a group of Nazi's, Goeth allows this group of Nazi's to be seen as human characters. It is a striking effect in that the viewer is able to see the human struggle that existed in the Nazi's and the cruel motivations that fed them. The stories of minor characters throughout the film also add to the impact of the film. While knowing that thousands were shot should be seen as tragedy, the tragedy becomes more personal when we see how an individual suffered. The individual stories told through the minor characters include Danka Dresner and her mother who struggle to avoid death and to stay together, a Jewish couple who marry in the Plaszow camp and the rabbi who survives a very close encounter with the Nazi's.

It is these stories of the minor characters that create an emotional reaction from the viewer, the plight of these people truly hits home, creating lasting images of the true tragedy of the situation.

How The Story is Told

The story begins in Poland in 1941 with the central character, Schindler. Schindler is seen operating his factory, hiring Jews to work in his factory because they are cheaper labor. While this saves the Jews from death, Schindler is not concerned with this fact, he is concerned only that they are cheap labor and of benefit to him. We see that Schindler's genius is in his ability to bribe, scheme and con others and we see him interacting with the Nazi's. It is a sign of the times that a man with such qualities is able to be successful, the message is that these are the qualities required in this damaged society. Schindler hires Jewish Itzhak Stern to handle his accounts and Stern recruits Jews to work in the factory.

The story continues in 1943 after the ghetto that was home to the Jews has been raided, with the Jews that survived being placed into the Plaszow Forced Labor Camp.

We are introduced to Amon Goeth, the Nazi commander who shoots Jews for target practice. Schindler forms a relationship with Goeth, a relationship he later uses when he campaigns to save the Jews from the camp. In one crucial scene, Schindler marches into the camp after a trainload of his employees are accidentally sent there. Schindler marches into the camp and talks the authorities out of killing his employees, saving them and sending them back to the factory. This scene shows Schindler's ability in bribing and conning others. It is representative of the fact that only a man with such unheroic qualities was able to make a difference in this environment. The story continues as Schindler's plan to save the Jews unfolds. The culmination of the events is in the end of the film where we learn that today there are around 6000 descendants of the Jews Schindler saved and that the Jewish population of Poland is around 4000. The meaning of this is that the Nazi Schindler was able to do more for the Jews than the whole of Poland.

Film Effects