Very impressive

Rating: 10/10 (25 December 1998)

Everything about Schindler's List is impressive. Never before have I seen a more painful portrayal of the Holocaust. The horrible images about the humiliation, the fears and the pain of the Jews are combined with the extraordinary absorbing story about Oskar Schindler, great camerawork, music and acting, both from the principal characters as the minor characters. A quiet, but nevertheless very impressive scene was the one in which the personal belongings of the Jews, who just had been put on transport, were sorted out. The first time I saw Schindler's List, this shot just seemed to go on and on, and thus gave me an idea of the enormous extent of what happened to the Jewish people. We witness how war can bring out the worst in men, like it did in Amon Goeth. Men like him were given the power, the opportunity, to develop the evil qualities in their characters. Luckily, Spielberg didn't portray only the evil side of Goeth, he also showed his audience that this horrible man still was capable of feeling something for another human being, even though he didn't want himself to. Thanks to the superb performance of Ralph Fiennes, the Amon Goeth character is in every way believable. We see how war also can bring out the best in men, like it did in Oskar Schindler. Spielberg very subtly develops the relationship between Schindler and Stern. They both know Schindler's feelings changed during the war, but neither of them talks about that. But still, the audience knows, just as Schindler and Stern know. Liam Neeson was very impressive, Ben Kingsley gave one of the best performances in movie history. Many people say that Saving Private Ryan is Spielberg's best movie, but I don't agree. Schindler's List has much more depth, and touched me far more deeply. It's a real masterpiece. A tip: Read the book! It gives a lot of details Spielberg couldn't show us, because of the limited length of the movie. It's worth your effort.