Schindler's List

Schindler’s List is a force of nature. It is a film that transcends the screen to become an experience. It is a perfect storm of filmmaking and emotion that sweeps us up and stays with us long after the final credits roll. Few films can be called perfect; Schindler’s List is one of them. It takes us on a journey that frightens us, angers us, horrifies us and shames us, but also instils us with hope.

The film is biographical account of the life of Oskar Schindler, played superbly by Liam Neeson, during the Second World War.  Schindler is a German business man seeking to turn a profit during the war. He begins as an unapologetic war profiteer, coldly suggesting that the only thing missing from prior failed businesses was war. With the help of a Jewish accountant, Itshak Stern, Schindler opens an enamelware factory and employs Jewish workers. Slowly, and at first without his full knowledge, Schindler’s factory becomes a haven for those who have been persecuted.

Schindler’s List is arguably the best film from director Steven Spielberg and that is saying a lot. By the time this film reached theatres, Spielberg was already considered to be one of the most successful filmmakers in history, with an impressive body of work. Spielberg had proven his ability to connect with audiences on a very personal level, whether that be by scaring them, thrilling them or bringing them to tears. Many of his previous efforts are still considered the best ever produced, including Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T. and The Color Purple. Even after Schindler, Spielberg continued to impress with films like Saving Private Ryan and Minority Report.

Schindler’s List stands out amongst the rest. For a filmmaker whose best work is his most personal, Schindler’s List represents Spielberg’s most personal work. Coming from Jewish heritage, Spielberg takes the waves of emotion he felt and renders is upon his audience. The passion he felt for this project is evident in every frame. Every emotion he felt is translated to us; we feel the weight on his shoulders. This is a film that is constructed out of passion first and skill as a filmmaker second. Spielberg must be applauded for his ability to hit every sentiment and sensation perfectly.

Schindler seems at first an unlikely avatar for the audience to join this journey. What could a German war profiteer do to convey the film’s message? But as an outsider, he is the perfect vehicle for the audience. It is through his eyes we witness the atrocities committed against the Jewish community. It is his gradual transformation from apathetic business man to hero that gives the film the time to wash over us; to absorb us. That transformation is beautiful to watch. Schindler is not a hero. He is not a likeable character. He is a social one, however. He enjoys frequenting nightclubs and rubbing shoulders with the Nazi higher ups. He is a drinker and a smoker and a philanderer. He came to Poland with one purpose: to make money. Initially, he hires Jews because they are the cheapest labour. They are basically slaves.

His transformation isn’t really explained in the film. We know that Schindler knows what the SS is doing. We can pinpoint moments in the film where he realizes his factory is less a business and more a haven. We recognize his moments of anger and fear and acceptance and approval and desire to do good but we can never put into words his exact motivation to leave apathy behind and become the hero. We hear him say he is motivated by money. For a time we believe him. And then we recognize the moments when he speaks of money but his thoughts have other motivations. This is part of the power of the film. Emotions are best felt and not put into words. Wasting time on exposition would have only cheapened the complexity of Schindler’s character. Instead, Spielberg allows us to understand Schindler in the language of emotion. We never find ourselves questioning his motivation, even though we can’t put our understanding into words.

What we do know is that Schindler’s Jewish accountant, Stern, gives him a push towards this transformation. Stern knows that as ‘essential workers’ in a factory that supports the German war effort, Schindler’s employees will be at least temporarily safe. Stern wastes no time in enlisting as many as he can as employees. He aids them in forging documents and lying to German officials. Stern is played with brilliant dignity and subtlety by Ben Kingsley. His strength is unmistakable. He is the yardstick with which we measure Schindler’s transition. They begin by using each other. Schindler has little knowledge of running a business. It gives him headaches. He needs Stern for this. Stern needs Schindler because he is at least a chance to save his fellow Jews. As Schindler grows to desire money less and protect ‘his’ Jews more, he and Stern become friends. Eventually they share a drink and even a laugh. It is a bond between men that is told with subtlety, care, honesty and beauty. Never is it obviously spoken. Spielberg chooses, once again, to let the emotion speak for itself.

As we watch the goodness in Schindler and Stern, we must also watch the evil in the Nazis. Spielberg has used Nazis as villains before this film, in his Indiana Jones trilogy but they were caricatures. In Schindler’s List, to call them villains would be cheapening the cruelty and undermining the atrocity of the Nazis. Ralph Fiennes plays Amon Goeth, a Nazi SS officer in charge of a prison camp. He is a character we can use to center our anger on. It is a paradoxical role. We want, no need, to hate Goeth and at the same time we must praise Fiennes for his performance. He encapsulates the stupidity and the insanity that dominate the Nazis actions. He personifies every evil that came from the Holocaust. He is a monster of a human being.

The film is shot in black and white. It is one of the most defining characteristics of the film. It gives the film a sense of timelessness. Spielberg took his cue to film in black and white from materials he had seen documenting the Holocaust. They were largely black and white. It gives the film a documentary feel. It never seems as though the film is exaggerating. Color would have beautified the film. Instead we are haunted by the stark black and white images. Missing from Schindler are stylistic flourishes. There are no crane shots or steadicam shots. There is an element of spontaneity in the shooting style that gives the film its teeth.

Spielberg chooses to use color photography sparingly. Candles and their flames are shot in color and bookend the film. They are a symbol of hope. They give way to black and white images of smoke, which symbolizes the burning of bodies at Auschwitz.

One aspect of the film that I have recently reversed my opinion on is the girl in the red jacket. I often thought that it was too much. The subject matter of the film was strong enough that for Spielberg to highlight that little girl was forcing the emotion. But upon my last viewing of the film, I realized that that was not at all his intention. The girl in the red jacket is not meant to instil emotion so much as she is meant as a condemnation to the rest of the world’s reaction to the Holocaust. During World War II, the Nazis actions were as obvious as that girl’s red coat against the black and white backdrop and yet the world did nothing. The image of her blood-red coat amongst the bodies stays with us as a constant reminder that the sin of inaction is one of the greatest sins humanity can commit.

A scene that I always felt worked but that has often been criticized is a scene near the end of the film. As the war ends, Schindler must close his factory. He is a member of the Nazi party and will be persecuted. As he leaves, surrounded by the Jews he saved, Schindler breaks down, exclaiming that he could have saved more. This scene has been criticized by being overly sentimental. I don’t think so. This scene is Spielberg’s gift to us. We are so overwhelmed with emotion by the end of the film that this scene acts as a release. We break down with Schindler. Our emotions well up and we are allowed to cry and to weep and to relieve ourselves of the pain that we felt from the film.

Schindler’s List is the best film from a filmmaker known for making great films. It is the best example of Spielberg as an artist. He refuses to let stylistic flourishes overwhelm the film. He allows the emotions and the subject matter to speak for themselves. He imbues every single frame passion. And passion makes a film great.