Emotional pornography.

Rating: Null/10 (23 January 1999)

Spielberg's much hyped film is a dangerous piece of work. It is unforgivably manipulative, using cinematic effects to connote horror and emotional involvement which serve only to distract the viewer from any sort of truth (in particular: the girl in the red coat, trite heart-string pulling). Yes, I know the intentions were good and that something like this should exist to continue the memory of the holocaust, but this is not it. This is emotional pornography, it's worthiness is sickening and it's heavy-handed nature merely bruises the audience into submission. This is how the tragedy of the holocaust will be remembered, a single story (with a seemingly happyish ending) with a hero. It's not totally factually accurate, yet it holds itself up as evidence. It is not. It is a fiction BASED on real events. Spielberg, with his influence, has rewritten history forever, a morally dubious thing to do. The photography is good, there are a couple of good performances (especially Ben Kingsley), the special effects are superb. But this is not a brilliant film, aesthetically or morally. It is disgraceful. If Spielberg was not Jewish himself, there would have been an uproar. It is a dangerous document. And as for playing it in schools (along with Amistad and Saving Private Ryan - both of which are as bad if not worse that SL) as has been suggested above, that I find very disturbing.
This film, preaching on high morals has made a few people a LOT of money. I know it was in black and white and over three hours long (which is uncommercial) but if Spielberg wanted to get closer to 'truth' (b+w IS NOT TRUTH, these things happened in colour! Newsreels are not TRUTH, they only act to remind you of the distance between you and what you are watching) why didn't he use all German and Polish speaking actors with subtitles? Because it wouldn't have made as much money, that's why. I'm sick of all this worthy praise of such an incredibly dodgy film. Watch 'SHOAH' instead and maybe you'll all actually learn something.