Review: Schindler’s List

The Steven Spielberg directed film, Schindler’s List, premiered on this date in 1993. The film won 8 Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Schindler’s List starred Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley and Ralph Fiennes.Synopsis:

Oskar Schindler is a charismatic and charming businessman who uses World War II as an opportunity to make money. Schindler is a part of the Nazi party and utilizes cheap Jewish labor in Nazi occupied Poland to make a fortune. As the war becomes more and more horrific for the Jewish captives, Schindler begins to change his beliefs. Schindler’s List is based on the true story of how Oskar Schindler saved over 1,000 Jewish prisoners from death.

Positives:

• Schindler’s List is one of the most powerful and moving films ever made. It forces the viewer to face the realities of greed and power in a way few other movies ever have. The moral questions it raises will stay with you for a long time after it ends.
• Steven Spielberg has accomplished an astonishing amount as a director during his career, but what he did with Schindler’s List goes beyond just cinema. The film feels like a historical documentary. The feelings you get allow the events depicted to affect you in a way few other films ever have. The dedication to realism and brutal honesty had to have been a difficult choice for Spielberg and his filmmaking sensibilities. This isn’t an "entertaining" film – which is what defined most of Spielberg’s career up to the making of Schindler’s List.
• The performances are extremely layered and fascinating to watch. Ben Kingsley gives a wonderfully subtle and quiet performance. Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes both play characters that are dealing with large amounts of power during the horrors of war. Seeing how each character deals with that power is captivating. Neeson’s Schindler becomes a more compassionate person as the war becomes more horrific, while Fiennes’s Nazi soldier becomes more of a monster as the battle carries on.

Negatives:

• Schindler’s List isn’t an easy movie to watch due to its length and the brutality that is depicted throughout. The film may not be something everyone will be able to watch.

In Closing:

Schindler’s List is a masterpiece that truly transcends the power of movie making. It’s not just one of the finest cinematic experiences ever crafted, it is one of the most important. Steven Spielberg may have made better films in his long career, but he probably has never made a more important one. Schindler’s List is one of the few movies that can change the way the audience looks at the world and the things they value.

Rating: A+