Color Choice = Genius

Rating: 10/10 (16 June 2017)

'Schindler's List' is one of the most important, illuminating, admirable, and beautiful films ever made. It is also one of the most enigmatic, unnerving, and demoralizing ones ever made. This makes for a most interesting combination. What this translated into for me was that it took me several viewings to finish the film, finding it necessary to pause to recollect my thoughts, both wishing to remember emotionally overwhelming scenes and to let myself realize that this is history. And quite recent history. As much as I wish this were another story of some fictional premise, I would be in denial, which is exactly what this film aims to alter. Because of these very reasons, Holocaust films are usually not very successful. 'Schindler's List' remains as a preeminent exception to this.
I was amazed to learn that Steven Spielberg was behind this masterpiece. Apparently, among other great directors, Scorsese & Polanski were also given the opportunity. And I am damn glad it was Spielberg who ended up with it. But I have to admit I would not have said this before seeing what he can do; apparently the variety of his talents. The same man who brought us the Indiana Jones & Jurassic Park series. Where is the Hollywood action? The pizazz? The overdone glamour? Even his more serious films, Saving Private Ryan, Catch Me If You Can, Munich, seem to be done by a completely different director. To me, they all pale in comparison to this film, which I confidently assert as the quintessential Holocaust/Nazi film.
Spielberg's choice to film in black & white illustrated the foresight and vision of a master. Furthermore, his selection of what minimal color would be used (bookend scenes & the young girl's red coat) was pure genius. It gives the film a timeless quality, yet matching the feel and style of the time of the events, rather than the time of filming. Whether or not intended, the film also drew parallels to Italian Neorealism, traditionally filmed on location, with some unprofessional actors, telling the stories of struggle and everyday life. The girl's red coat was a conspicuous way to make a visually beautiful statement. Our eyes are drawn to this unexpected, sparse, vivid infusion of color. "Look at me," it says. "You can try to be in denial, but this is really happening. You cannot pretend it isn't These deaths, this injustice, this wrong is not going away on its own." And, in fact, it is when Schindler realizes that the girl he observed so silently only days before is now gone forever, signaled only by her red coat, that he sees this and begins his dramatic character shift. The second use of color, in the bookends, seems to be primarily for the candles. Both scenes portray a family observing The Shabbat. In the opening bookend, before the start of the war, we watch two votive candles melt away into nothing; in a beautiful use of cinematography, the last of the smoke from the candles, lightly colored, dissolves and transforms into the black and white smoke from a train arriving in Krakow, Poland. A title card announces World War II. In the closing bookend, to signify redemption and the renewal of hope, these same candles are relit; color is renewed.