Schindler's List

Schindler's List

Jessica Fox

English 20IB

The privilege of watching movies in school has always been a thing to look forward to, but I did not enjoy watching Schindler's List in the least. I'm not sure one can actually enjoy such a portrayal of one of the most disgusting and painful parts of World War II. The Holocaust - the tragic tale of the millions murdered across Europe for their ancestry and heritages, religions and customs. Jews, Gypsies, prisoners of war and people with mental or physical handicaps were ruthlessly eradicated, and all for reasons that they couldn't prevent.

Spielberg truly outdid himself in the filming of Schindler's List, based from a biography written by Thomas Keneally. A stunning, memorable take on lives affected in the forties, the potency of this movie will impact even the most indifferent of people in today's society. Pointless and unmerited death and destruction, so matter-of-factly depicted on screens so big and small, is sure to turn the stomachs of even the strongest man.

Oskar Schindler, a wealthy Czechoslovakian member of the Nazi party, was a man who cared solely for his financial welfare. Arriving in Poland with the ambition to run his own business, Schindler meets with Itzhak Stern, the former owner of a pot-making factory. Through wheedling, dealing, and finally bribery, Schindler buys the factory from Stern and appoints him the factory accountant. Hiring a fistful of Jews for their cheap labour, mandatory support and pathetic gratefulness for their meager rewards, Schindler begins to thrive monetarily, and his alcoholic, chain smoking and womanizing qualities are brought to light. However, as his relationship with his new manager develops and as the Jews' situation worsens, Itzhak Stern causes Schindler's eyes to be opened, in every clichйd and figurative meaning. Coming to Nazi-occupied Poland in search of monetary prosperity and leaving as the saviour of over one thousand Polish Jews, one can see how, in just a short time, Schindler grew both emotionally and psychologically.

Accents, abilities and appearances sold me completely on this film. Steven Spielberg's trick of filming entirely in black and white was as enthralling as it was curious, and loaned a great deal towards the emotional aspects of the viewers. It seems almost as though the colourless quality brings one back into the time itself, when colour televisions were not yet common, and when gun warfare was more than simply dates in a history book. No, the shades of grey draw a viewer into the very history text itself, the pictures and descriptions never more avid in any words.

Liam Neeson's stellar performance is one to be remembered, and though he is not