Schindler's List

Hitler era movie number three.  Sorry, the first two were before the blog.  The first two were Valkyrie and Downfall, both excellent by the way.

On to the movie, eh? Once again, I am presently surprised by the movies portraying the Hitler era.  I will admit, finding time to watch a 3.5 hour movie can be tricky to do in one chunk, and it is after midnight but it was worth it.  I can not begin to describe the power in this movie, let alone the feelings it created.  I honestly can not believe that a horrendous event such as this was permitted to occur.  How could the rest of the world stand by and watch and do nothing while over 6 million Jews were murdered?  That my friends I have no answer.  What I do have an answer for is that this movie is well worth the very long 3.5 hours that it spans.


Since this is my first full movie review, I will introduce you to my current as of now system.  I plan to rate on a 5 star system similar to the rating system of Netfix  I will however reserve the ability to rate a film 0 stars which you can not do on Netlfix.  When I rate a movie either 5 or 0 stars I will have an explanation supporting my reasons for the rating so far to one side or the other of the scale.  For Schindler's List, I am giving it a 4 star.  Now I have to tell you that Downfall and Valkyrie were both also 4 stars.  I have a few more Hitler era movies on the list that you will see reviews from as well.

The acting in this movie was amazing.  Liam Neeson, more recently in Taken was incredible.  Ben Kingsley and Ralph Fiennes played amazing supporting actors.  The only minor complaint I have is that Liam and Ralph look very similar and casting them both in the same movie can be a bit confusing.  That being said, the acting was top notch.  I can't imagine the power and feelings that they had to portray to make the movie realistic.

The story was great as well.  It was a solid script, with a great attention to detail.  I could not believe the details that went in to certain parts of the movie.  Having the film shot in black and white was an amazing decision by Steven Spielberg.  This set the stage, and only heightened the amazing emotional responses that the movie creates in us viewers.

**Spoiler alert, do not read below if you do not want details from the movie**

Where do I even start?  I honestly could not even fathom what must have been going through these soldiers minds to do some of the things that were portrayed.  Ralph's character was brutal.  The way he was able to just walk up to the Jews and shoot them is incredible.  Steven did an amazing job of capturing the hatred, and he did an excellent job of bringing this out in the movie.  Detail is there from start to end, with the body's reaction to being shot, the fear of the train rides and showers and the relief of the Schindler Jews escape from camp.  One part I found particularly powerful was the little girl in the red coat.  Being a black and white movie, we obviously were supposed to notice this girl walking through the streets.  She comes back later in the movie, laying on a cart being put into one of the human incinerators at the camps.  Again you can see the red coat and Liam's character happens to see her and you can see the sorrow and regret in his face, while the wheels in his head continue to turn to find a way to save these people.

It is tough to pick my favorite part of the movie, but I think I would pick the ending.  The last 20 minutes of the film was the most powerful in my opinion.  It all starts when the war ends.  Schindler calls all of his saved "employees" to a meeting with the guards.  Schindler has them working in his factory producing bogus bullet casings and shells while he spends his small fortune to buy and pass of as his own to continue his trek to save the Jews.  He is able to talk the guards into leaving instead of killing his 6 some thousand saved Jews.  Schindler is forced to leave because he is now considered the enemy.  He is then presented with a letter signed by all of his saved Jews, and a traditional ring.  Schindler breaks down in front of them all confessing that he believes he had not done near enough.  He could have sold the car, he could have sold his gold Nazi pin, and so on to save even more people.  When the movie ends you see a synopsis of what happened to all the major characters, and it flashes to "current" time.  Schindler's Jews come to his grave site to pay respects.  This had to be the most powerful, intense scene in the movie.  These men, women and children would all be dead if it were not for this one man who betrayed authority to do what he believed was right.  All I can say is we, as a human race need more people similar to Oskar Schindler.

All in all, this was a very good movie.  Acting, directing, script for reality, and especially emotions created were all top notch.  I would recommend this movie to almost anyone.  If you are a history buff, or even just slightly interested it is a great portrayal of an incredibly horrid time in human history.  Check it out and comment back to let me know what your thoughts are!