Review of Schindler's List (1993) by Directortom — 22 Oct 2014

There are only a few films ever made that require the value of IMPORTANT. This film may rate near the top in that rare category. It is the true story that matters most here although the acting is more than sufficient.

Special attention should be given to Ben Kingsley in his portrayal of Issac Stern, Oscar Schindler's link to the Jewish leadership. Mr Kingsley simply nails the personality and character of a man who, reluctantly almost to the very end, is the key figure to the success of Schindler's eventual passion of saving as many Jews as possible, though it cost him everything.

The brilliance of Steven Spielberg is in no short supply here as he paints a bitter but realistic picture of the real suffering of the holocaust Jews during World War II Europe. We now understand better how and why these Jews could not imagine the horrors they would face until too late.

Spielberg holds nothing back here. The children, the elderly, and even the preferred Jewish servants of the Nazis have screen time and as brutal as it is on screen, the actual abuse remains largely unimaginable in modern eyes.

Although some of the film teases us with a documentary flavor, Spielberg is able to transform Schindler and the audience into helpless emotional characters reaching for tissues. The moment Schindler realizes his ring and especially his car might have saved a few more Jews from the ovens, we are tearful wrecks! The most IMPORTANT film in my rather larger collection of classic films.