Schindler's List

[NobodysHeroine]

My apologies if a thread already exists for this movie. If not, it merits a thread all its own.

 

In my Holocaust class, we watched the movie adaption of Schindler's List. It's an exceptionally well-done movie. I definitely recommend it to anyone who hasn't seen it yet. It deserves all of its awards and praise. It's quite disturbing and harrowing, as you can imagine, as any movie of that type would be expected to be. I found myself tearing up and being horrified at several points. I was shocked by the fact that people could possibly do such things to each other, deliberately humiliating and inflicting suffering upon other human beings. There's incomprehensible and utterly reprehensible to me. It's sickening. It's heartless. Hatred is a devastating and unforgiving force, one that consumes the mind and body completely and drives us to do uminaginable things.

 

But I chose this class; I wouldn't have wanted to take it if I couldn't handle it. It's history. If we don't know exactly what happened and why, we'll never learn from it. It shouldn't be sugar-coated or even avoided completely. Real, uncensored history is pretty difficult to take at times, especially the Holocaust. That's why the class is only for Juniors and Seniors; it requires significant amounts of maturity and composure in order to study the material, which rowdy Freshmen and Sophomores wouldn't be able to have. The movie very is hard-hitting and thought-provoking, and it's supposed to be. It definitely hasn't left my mind since I finished it today.

 

It's all so sombering. We're talking about more than ten million lost lives here, six million of which were Jewish. I couldn't help thinking of Geddy's parents throughout the movie. I have even more respect and admiration for him and his family now.

 

Liam Neeson plays Oskar Schindler brilliantly. I said that I cried throughout the movie; I sure did at the end, when Schindler was mourning the fact that he couldn't save more people than he did. He breaks down, and the Jewish survivors all walk over to comfort him. I just lost it. My opinion of him changed dramatically by the end; he honestly didn't make a very good first impression on me. Despite that, he did what so many didn't dare to do, or were unable to do: he saved thousands of Jews from death camps. We can look beyond his flaws, since he was one of the most remarkable heroes of World War II. In the grand scheme of things, the good that Schindler did far outweighs everything else. War brings out both the best and worst in people; WWII had plenty of both. But Schindler was one of the shining examples of the best.

 

The movie is incredible, plain and simple. In the words of Neil Peart, "it's dedicated to the future with honor to the past."

 

Sorry about the essay.

 

Was anyone else moved by this movie the way that I was?

[Astromancer]

I enjoyed the hell out the movie when I saw it last year in US history. Pretty much a perfect film from every angle.

[Ancient Ways]

It's obviously a well done and powerful movie. I guess, after a few years since first seeing it, my problem is with the portrayal of the German officer camp commandant. The movie portrays him as a sadistic monstrous sociopath that revels in dishing out pain. I think it is too easy to portray him as this type of monster. The really disturbing aspect of Nazi atrocities is the fact that they were primarily committed by otherwise "normal" people who, in different circumstances, may have led more or less normal lives. Much like "average" law-abiding citizens who feel the urge to partake in rioting a la Vancouver and London, it is much more interesting to try to comprehend why "average" people allowed themselves to commit these acts. Don't interpret this post as denying that sociopaths were involved in these acts.

[Cowtothesky]

A masterpiece. One of my favorite movies of all time. Love the way the story was told, the way it was filmed, the music, the attention to detail, the acting... everything. I haven't seen it in a few years, I'll have to watch it again soon.

[Presto-digitation]

"You made out during Schindler's List...?"

[HowItIs]

A brilliant film. Terribly difficult to watch but necessary to see. I haven't been able to watch it all the way through a second time. Some of the scenes are just too intense for me.

 

I disagree about the Nazi commandant (played by Ralph Fiennes in a breathtaking acting job). He was actually based on a real person. So it wasn't a question of portraying a "stereotypical" Nazi. It's the way the man was - nothing average about him.

[Babycat]

It's a beautifully made movie, but there are scenes in there that are so upsetting to watch. Which I guess is the whole point.