May 8, 2018

In 1993, the historical drama “Schindler’s List” was first shown. It was very well received all over the world and still remains a timeless classic today. The film was directed by acclaimed director, Steven Spielberg, who won a Best Director Award for his work on the film. The movie follows the real life businessman Oskar Schindler through the events of the Holocaust. It primarily focuses not only on the numerous atrocities committed by the Nazis but Schindler’s change from a self centered capitalist to a man who gives all that he owns to save 1,200 Jews from the concentration camps.

A strength of the movie was how it was filmed. The film was not only shot in black and white to give it a timeless look but Spielberg story boarded it as if it were a documentary which positively affects the overall informative tone of the film.

Another strength the film manages to pull off is it’s strong central character. Centered around Oskar Schindler, a real businessmen responsible for saving the lives of many Jews during the Holocaust. When we are introduced to him, he is portrayed as a self centered, loose, philanderer who only sees the Jews that he saves as laborers for his own gain. The audience watches him grow from this type of man to the selfless human being that he turns out to be in the end.

The film falters little as each and every scene is constructed with remarkable detail and precision. The film does a great job conveying the time period and instances of brutality that were a reality for some during the Holocaust. It is important to note that this film is quite brutal at times with a fairly high body count. These scenes are quite disturbing at times and it is not recommended that you watch it if you are easily moved by that sort of thing. One particular character, named Amon Goeth, comes to mind as he is quite brutal to the Jewish inmates at the Krakow Concentration Camp. The movie portrays him as a deranged psychopath using the Jews for target practice. One particular scene involves him shooting a number of Jews with a rifle from a balcony overlooking the camp. Again, this film is not for the faint of heart.