Schindler's List

I have another Holocaust movie to write about, and this time its the Academy Award winner, Schindler's List. I have a theory that the reason (in my opinion) there are so many good movies about the Holocaust is because the film-makers must ensure they produce something interesting and unique to set it apart from the myriad movies already made on the topic. As such, I found Schindler's List particularly interesting as it is based on the amazing true story of Oskar Schindler.

Schindler's List tells the story of profiteering German factory owner, Schindler, who ended up virtually "penniless" (IMDb) after buying the 1100 Jews who worked for him - to save them from the gas chambers. With amazing camera work and a score by John Williams (of 'Jurassic Park', 'Star Wars' and 'Jaws' fame), the film quite rightly is referred to as a "cinematic masterpiece that has become one of the most honoured films of all time", on the DVD cover.

"the film quite rightly is referred to as a

"cinematic masterpiece that has become

one of the most honoured films of all time"

The film is particularly interesting in itself. The director, Steven Spielberg shot the film almost entirely in black and white, with the exception of a young girl in a red coat. This was rather clever, I thought, as it made her stand out in amongst all the black and white, and in amongst all the death and dying. This makes it more personal for the viewer who has an innocent little girl to hold hope for. This hope is lost later in the film when her dead body reappears. However, by putting her in colour, Spielberg has made her a symbol for all those who lost their lives in the Holocaust. Because as we know, it is quite easy to find yourself thinking more in terms of numbers and statistics rather than actual individuals who lost their lives.

This concept was also brought home for me at the end of the film. Schindler is shown to break down at the conclusion of the war, when he realises he still possesses material wealth that could have been used to save more lives,

Schindler: 'This car. Goeth would have bought this car. Why did I keep the car?
Ten people right there. Ten people. Ten more people.'

[removing Nazi pin from lapel]

'This pin. Two people. This is gold. Two more people. He would have given me two for it, at least one. One more person. A person, Stern. For this.'

[sobbing]

'I could have gotten one more person... and I didn't! And I... I didn't!'

Again, this scene reiterates the importance of individual lives, rather than depersonalising the issue by focusing on the millions as a whole. This scene, and in fact this movie, reminded me of Stalin's quote, "the death of one man is a tragedy, the death of millions is a statistic." And we see that Spielberg tries to bring the focus back to the tragedy.

Schindler's List was a particularly personal venture into the Holocaust. For me, this film put a face to the "statistic" that Stalin speaks of. It got my brain going, and made me question how perhaps, in this modern world we live in today we have become desensitised to death and dying.


Get a feel for this unique piece by viewing the trailer...