By no means perfect

Rating: 8/10 (20 April 1999)

This grandiose opus Spielberg directed to cement his name as a "serious" filmmaker, stands in a very dubious position : its very subject is so sacred and untouchable to the civilized world (including film critics), that questioning the film's integrity as of late has been almost equated to denying the Holocaust itself. The truth, however is bitter: "Schindler's List" is far from perfect. Spielberg, previously known for his family-oriented, gawking adventure yarns that usually were as far away from tangible reality as possible, indeed has surprised everyone with the heartwrenching brutality of the Jewish victims' suffering, which he vividly depicts. The most powerful scenes in the film work on a purely instinctive level: they're silent and do not involve familiar individuals, they play almost like some perversely voyeuristic yet priceless footage of Nazi atrocities. The wisely chosen, eloquent black and white cinematography is a definite highlight. Everything else, for the most part, has Spielberg at his old game: he was always best at spectacle, and worst at character development. A dozen or so Jews are singled out as "types", and are traced throughout the film. In over three hours, we learn absolutely nothing about them, they're merely sheep to be saved by Schindler. The man himself is provided with almost no real explanation for his change from an opportunistic slaveowner to a righteous saint-like figure. In the last ten minutes, he simply steps out of character and lapses into a stagy farewell; seductively tearjerking, but completely out of place in a movie that aspires to an authentic representation of the Holocaust. The only character that even begins to approach three-dimensionality is the local Nazi henchman , (Ralph Fineness), one of the most interesting portrayals of a villain in recent cinema. Despite its considerable problems, "Schinler's list" is still widely used to introduce the new, unsophisticated audience to the mid-twentieth century horrors: whether or not is should be, remains open to debate.