Spielberg' Finest Artistic Achievement

Rating: 10/10 (7 February 2014)

Candles slowly burn during the Shabbat in a Jewish household. After many hours of burning and illumination, the flame goes out and gives off ominously rising smoke and reveals the black and white image that snuck in as the candles shrunk. Such is the tone that is set for the rest of the film Schindler's List, Steven Spielberg's tribute/justice to the millions of Jewish people slaughtered during the Holocaust.
This particular chapter of the Holocaust is the portrait of the mysterious Oskar Schindler, and his actions during the war in Poland. We see him begin as an opportunist businessman, who wines and dines with the Nazi higher ups in exchange to receive funding for a factory he wishes to profit from. For both parties, Jews are considered "cheap labor," therefore Schindler hires Itzhak Stern to handle rounding up a workforce in his new factory. Stern is really trying to save as many people as the "Herr Direktor" will allow from certain death. Over the course of the film, something changes in Schindler that drives him to save "his Jews" because he begins to realize the atrocities being committed around him, and that he must make a difference, even at the risk of losing his life in the process.
Every actor in this film is perfect, no matter how big or small the role is. Liam Neeson gives his best work here as the complicated Schindler. It could have been a stereotypical "revelation" motivated performance, but Neeson never condescends to a perfunctory level. He is complimented in his performance by Ben Kingsley as the loyal and determined Stern. The actor who steals the film is Ralph Fiennes as Amon Goeth. He, like Neeson, has the hardest task of any actor, to give humanity to someone who is morally reprehensible on paper. His is one of those performances that was robbed of the recognition it deserved.
Much like the film The Shawshank Redemption, this film delves into the souls of the people in the middle of a dark situation. Schindler himself is an enigma. here we have a man who begins thinking about only himself and his money, but realizes what his actions mean in the big picture of what's going on. As the film progresses, he begins to care about the people he has saved, and pours every ounce of energy and every cent of his money to make sure that they do not suffer the same fate as those who couldn't be saved. The character of Stern acts as his moral compass, convincing his boss that what he is doing is right. He does not always agree with his boss' logic, but works to make sure no one is killed or taken away to the ovens. The evil incarnate character Amon Goeth, is also conflicted by his feelings about this whole affair for one reason. He too hates the Jews with a brainwashed passion, but ironically falls in love with his Jewish housemaid. He struggles to come to terms with this fact while still managing to shoot Jews at random for sport.
Director Steven Spielberg and writer Steve Zaillian take a really smart approach to the material, by not making the characters one-dimensional or motivated by a cheap cliché. We are never really clued into what makes Schindler change his mind about his workers until the very end of the film, which is a brilliant storytelling masterstroke.
There is absolutely nothing glamorous at all in this film, which lends its greater sense of verisimilitude. The cinematography is in black-and-white, as it should be. If it had been in color, it would have been all wrong. Spielberg and Janusz Kaminski shoot this like a documentary, lending itself to far more realistic shots and actions than a straightforward drama. The violence is truly gut-wrenching and sickening, but again, it is an accurate view of what happened in real life. The disturbing image of bodies burning and the billowing smoke from the Auschwitz chimney won't leave one's mind for years after seeing this film. The girl in the red coat is the most haunting image from the film, as the filmmakers wished to convey the confusion of how people didn't even know this was happening, even though it "stuck out like a girl wearing a red coat." Spielberg knew just when to add color to the film, the moments when there is true despair or hope at the end of the film
This film is made all the more haunting because of the first-rate score by John Williams. Backed with the violinist Itzhak Perlman, Williams delivers one of the best scores in eternity, and one that is never overblown. Both use their beauty to convey a dark passage in history, but most importantly, to highlight the success of the people saved.
At a first glance, it would seem Spielberg was the wrong man to make this film, as his focus in his early career was on entertainment films and escapist images. With this film, we see him blossom into a true artist. He does not mince images or words in this film whatsoever. He presents the events depicted like it was, stark and hopeless. Spielberg so poured his heart into this material that it was reported that he sobbed every day during filming, but wouldn't relent in telling this story. This film is the greatest achievement in his career, not only in terms of Oscars and recognition, but his transformation as an artist.