Review of Schindler's List (1993) by Shahmeer H — 24 Jul 2013

About time I got to this film. This film had been on my watch list for years, waiting for the Blu-ray to come out before I got my first look at it, but never bought it. So I finally got it online, sat down in my theater room, put it on and watched it. And god. This film was near perfect.

Schindler's List is about Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson), a Nazi living in Germany in charge of factory workers. He and his jew friend Itzahk Stern (Ben Kingsley) gather up a Jewish workforce involving a group of individuals who were bound for doom, but are now saved by pay and work because of Oskar Schindler. But Amon Goeth (Ralph Fiennes), a member of the SS-police force enters into his business venture and into his town, where he takes controls and starts persecuting Jews like never before. For Schindler and his Jews, life gets more and more tough, resulting in deaths, losses, pain, and loss of faith...

Liam Neeson gives an excellent performance as Oskar Schindler, one very moving and heartwarming as I remember. One of the last scenes lets him stand out as a spectacular actor, and should've given him the Oscar he was nominated for and deserved. His performance from a man who's mind was set on riches, to a man who's mind was set on saving lives is excellent, and could not be done better. Ben Kingsley stands out to me the most from the film. When I learned that Ben Kingsley had played Isak Stern, I had finally regarded him as one of the greatest actors of generations. The way he immerses himself into a character of such calmness and such willingness with being silent most the film, makes him an excellent actor and one to be given plenty of Oscars. I can understand he was not given a nomination for Best Supporting Actor because he is simply playing the role of Ghandi, but switched around as a serious Jew, but still, when a man can go from Isak Stern, to the Mandarin, you know you have an amazing actor. Ralph Fiennes also gives one of the best performances I've seen of any Nazi, rivaled only by Christoph Waltz in Inglourious Basterds. You feel such strong hatred for this man, and you just want to kill him right there. He fully makes you angry at any Nazi alive, but I'll get back to that in a bit. The performances from the rest of the cast were also very good, particularly the Jewish children involved in the film. Their sense of fear and confusion is fully realized as you watch the screen, and you feel as if these kids are hopeless, and that nothing is left for them. Their facial expressions bring pain to your heart as you watch the film, for you begin to feel as if there is nothing left for them.

The writing for Schindlers list is also excellent, as a beautiful adaption from the book Schindler's Ark. It provides the perfect mixture of humor, grief, fear, and anger as the dialogue unfolds. The main star, though, of Schindler's List is clearly Stephen Spielberg. As a director who has made Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T., and Jurassic Park, you would never expect a film about the Jewish Holocaust to arise from him. His choice of black and white to film, and shots of color at times, such as the girl with the red jacket, is brilliant and provides a true sense of believability within the movie. The symbol of hope the girl with the red jacket brings as she lasts through the danger and survives many horrifying moments in the film is fully realized through Spielberg's eyes. Also, his choice to bring the real life survivors of the Holocaust at the end of the film is amazing, and proves this film is not just for Oscar bait, but rather is a documentary to teach people that this is real, and that reality should be fully understood and believed.

My only problem with this film, though, is that it's very one sided. As we watch, we understand not to persecute and hate as the Nazi did the Jews, but in the end I feel a sudden hatred for the Nazis. It doesn't make much sense, as we watch the film feeling a strong anger toward the Nazi troop, not understanding their anger toward the Jews. But as the film continues, we never understand that MOST the Nazi's only fought and killed because it was their job (Ralph Fiennes, on the other hand, is a different story). As a film with a strong moral message, I felt it came out as hypocritical, teaching us never to hate, but in the end we feel hateful of the Nazis.

No film has ever made me cry, not even this one, but this is the one that brought me closest to it. It was so emotional, so fully captivating and so sad, a film that will leave you speechless. Acting is superb, writing is spot on, and direction is amazing. Not any films come out unflawed in the telling of a tale, but this one certainly did. Although the film sends a message through hypocritical execution, this film was absolutely brilliant. No film will make you feel more sad, be more angry, and feel more moved as much as this did. But the ability to send these emotions to a viewer through the simple act of rolling a film and putting it on a screen, gives this film the highest honor of how a film should truly be. For this reason, it makes it onto my Favorite Films of All Time List, giving it a grandeur mark as one of the best movies of all time, and one of the best movies that can ever be made. This film makes you feel a way nothing, not even the people around you, can sometimes, making it stand it up as a timeless, excellent example of a strong, moving, and overall, superb movie. 10/10.