Schindler’s List is Steven Spielberg’s crowning achievement. It’s brilliant filmmaking from start to finish, but it’s so relentless in its depiction of one of the darkest chapters in human history that I find myself immobilized with grief. This is a tough movie to watch … and rewatch. A profoundly sad, nightmarish masterpiece that tells the true story of how one man’s change of heart against a fascist regime made a difference.
“Whoever saves one life saves the world entire” is a paraphrased quote translated from the Talmud and often cited in reference to a gold ring presented to Oskar Schindler by his Schindlerjuden at the end of World War II. These words become the backbone of this film.
The first part of the story focuses on Schindler (Liam Neeson) and his calculated rise as an opportunistic war profiteer. The charismatic scenes of him wining and dining Nazi officers in order to secure prized manufacturing contracts are intercut with the rounding up of Polish Jews into the Krakow Ghetto. The camera is often hand-held in these documentary-style reenactments, and the black-and-white film stock lends a newsreel authenticity to the disturbing proceedings. Spielberg perfectly captures the disbelief, confusion, and fear on indelible face after indelible face. It doesn’t feel like there are any “extras” in this movie. It’s as if I’ve stumbled onto dozens of fully realized stories for a fleeting moment.
Meanwhile, Oskar Schindler goes about his business hiring Itzhak Stern (Ben Kingsley), a Jewish accountant with black-market contacts as well as legitimate connections in the Jewish community. Schindler secures his financing through Stern’s associates while obtaining scarce equipment and underground materials needed to open an enamelware factory. He brings in Jewish workers because they cost less and soon establishes himself as a successful entrepreneur.
Not long after, Nazi officer Amon Goeth (Ralph Fiennes in a truly frightening performance) arrives to oversee construction of a new concentration camp. Upon its completion, he orders the liquidation of the ghetto, and what follows is one of the most heart-wrenching sequences in any film I’ve seen. It’s the authenticity, audacity, sheer horror, and unrelenting insanity of each tragic moment that leaves an unforgettable impression. Schindler observes this atrocious massacre from a hillside overlooking the city, and it has a life-altering affect on him. In particular, he is taken with a young girl wearing a red coat, searching for safety and shelter. Several scenes later, she turns up again in a heap of discarded bodies being carted away.
For business purposes, Schindler has befriended Goeth in order to remain in good standing with the Nazis, but in time he begins to protect his workers. Goeth is a complete monster. From his private balcony, he randomly guns down prisoners as target practice while he abuses his Jewish maid Helen (Embeth Davidtz) because he can’t acknowledge that he’s attracted to her.
When the Nazis begin to lose, Goeth is ordered to close the camp and ship all remaining Jews to Auschwitz. That’s when Schindler bribes Goeth into letting him build a sub-camp nearby. He then refurbishes his factory in order to produce munitions instead of enamelware, and he tries to save as many lives as possible as a result. With the help of Stern, Schindler creates a list with the names of 850 essential workers. In another terrifying scene, the train containing all of his female workers is diverted to Auschwitz by mistake. Schindler has to bribe Rudolph Hoss (Hans Michael Rehberg) with a bag full of diamonds in order to have the women and girls released and returned to him.
For the duration of the war, Schindler depletes his amassed fortune by lining the pockets of Nazi officers while his factory manufactures faulty artillery shells on purpose. He encourages his workers to observe their sabbath and insulates them from the Nazi guards employed as overseers. When Germany ultimately surrenders, Schindler is broke. As a member of the Nazi party himself, he is also a war criminal, but before he and his wife (Caroline Goodall) flee the country, his workers present him with a letter explaining his critical role in saving their lives. It’s signed by all 850 workers. They also give him the gold ring with the inscription on it.
Every aspect of this production is outstanding—from John Williams’ haunting score to the shadowy cinematography and period-perfect art direction. The acting throughout Schindler’s List is exemplary as well, and each performance is memorable, but it’s the final scene where Stern presents Schindler with the ring and letter that tear my heart out. That tormented expression on Neeson’s face as he bursts into tears, wondering if he might have sold just one more possession to save one more life. I can’t help but sob openly myself. It’s the tragic realization of inadequacy, knowing that no matter how much he did, it still wasn’t enough. Then to receive unanimous respect and reassurance from his workers after all they have endured is humbling and extremely powerful.
“Whoever saves one life saves the world entire.”
The epilogue is in color, and the principal cast moves forward on a hillside, scattered among the huge crowd of “Schindler Jews” gathered to place stones of remembrance on Oskar Schindler’s grave. Each is accompanied by the real person they play in the movie, which drives home the monumental legacy he left behind.
Today, there are over 8,500 descendants of Schindlerjuden throughout the world.
Schindler’s List
Director | Steven Spielberg |
Primary Cast | Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley, Ralph Fiennes, Caroline Goodall, Jonathan Sagall, Embeth Davidtz |
Familiar Faces | Ben Kingsley from Gandhi |
Firsts | First and only film directed by Steven Spielberg to win Best Picture, first Oscar for Steven Spielberg as Best Director |
Total Wins | 7 (Picture, Director, Screenplay: Adapted, Cinematography, Art Direction, Editing, Score) |
Total Nominations | 12 (Picture, Director, Actor: Liam Neeson, Supporting Actor: Ralph Fiennes, Screenplay: Adapted, Cinematography, Art Direction, Costume Design, Editing, Sound, Score, Makeup) |
Viewing Format | Blu-ray Disc |