REVIEW: Schindler's List

So Schindler's List is #8 on the 1998 version of AFI's top 100 list.


From the beginning of the film, I was unaware of how ignorant I was in a lot of the history and geography behind the Holocaust. The first half of the film takes place in Poland and the second half in the Czech Republic (Schindler's home country). Many of the European countries approved of the anti-Antisemitism (which is not what I learned).

 In the film, I admired his character in that even thought the world around him seemed to be going crazy, he put his foot down and refused to flow down this river knee-deep in murder and blood.

What I liked about the movie:
1.) It was very true to the real story.
It does not paint him into this perfect figure. The story is about Oskar Schindler, a womanizing, black marketeering, member of the Nazi party. He was not to be glorified as a "holy" figure but he was in heroic in that he stood up to save the lives of 1,000 Jews. It does not end with him receiving many awards. In fact, after the war, he fled the country, his marriage fell apart, and he built several unsuccessful companies that went under. It wasn't really your typical Hollywood tale. I suppose that is what makes it a classic. 

2.) Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes...enough said.
These are phenomenal actors. They are still making awesome films. Liam Neeson was in Les Miserables and Taken. Ralph Fiennes played Lord Voldemort in Harry Potter and starred in the film The Constant Gardener.

They played their characters very well. I never doubted that they were there characters for a minute. They truly embodied their roles. I was happy to see that they were in this film!

3.) The current political climate in the U.N. makes it a good film to watch.
They say hatred of Israel is the politically correct way of being anti-Semitic. This film illustrates the most recent extreme genocide of Jews in history. It shows you the length that hatred of Jews can go and where it currently is. Nothing is new and history tends to go into this perpetual repetition. I fear growing tensions in the Middle East due to the Palistine vote but the legislation could end in no action. (I digress.)

I loved the story, how someone who was not Jewish could have sympathy with those at a time when the world thought them to be worthless. It is not my favorite film (because I feel like I've seen it before) but it is a great story. I suppose when it first came out, it was one of the first of its kind and I've just been watching the poorly made copies of the original. Lol.