Review of Schindler's List (1993) by Drew T — 24 Dec 2013

Spielberg brings to the big screen the story of Oskar Schindler, the businessman who freed a group of Jews after witnessing and being disgusted about the horrors of the holocaust. He hence drastically separates himself from the commercial filmmaking, the same type of filmmaking he is so often associated with, with an emotionally compelling look at one of the stories in one of the most shameful pages of human history.

Being Spielberg, however, the film is visually enriched by a wonderfully sharp stylistic approach with a great use of black and white photography that heightens its tension and at the same time seeks to update a classicist type of cinema.

Occasionally, he does overdo the stylistic aspect and also the patronising elements that often show up even in the best of his more serious works. But both Neeson in the role of Schindler and a fiery and malevolent Fiennes have an imposing presence and share great tension in their antagonism that almost reveals them as arch-nemesis.

In fact, it could be argued, that Schindler's List is so remarkable because it connects with a younger audience through its modern graphic novel approach that balances the serious undertones of the true story it recounts.