A Masterpiece of our Time

Rating: 10/10 (11 December 2002)

After many a year producing films of high entertainment, but lesser intellectual class, Steven Spielberg finally created a true masterpiece of our time. Consistently overlooked for Oscars for his previous films, the Academy had no choice but to pour glittering praise over this cinematic adaptation of Thomas Keneally's best-selling book.
I will not go into the details of the story as this should be imprinted into the mind by the images of the film itself. Rather, I would like to make special commentary on the direction of Spielberg, the screenplay of Steven Zaillian and the excellent cinematography by Janusz Kaminski. The controversial decision to film in black and white must also be specially commended, as it adds to the atmosphere of the film greatly.
The thing which sets the film apart from any I have seen before or since, however, is in the quality of acting. In parts, you lose the fact that it is ONLY a film, and not a live-action documentary. Of particular note is the exceptional British acting trio of Liam Neeson (Oskar Schindler), Ben Kingsley (Itzakh Stern) and Ralph Fiennes (Untersturmfuhrer Amon Goeth). Although the performances by the first two were magnificent, I do not believe I have ever seen an acting performance to rival that of Fiennes in his role as the Komandant.
It is all the more remarkable considering that this was his first role in a major film, having being plucked out of relative obscurity by Spielberg having seen his performance in the television movie "A Dangerous Man: Lawrence After Arabia" the previous year. It was an absolute travesty that none of these acting performances were rewarded with an Academy Award, showing the Oscars for the shambles that they really are.
I would like to end by making the point that I have never been left so astounded by any film as Schindler's List. Some may say that it is part of the propaganda machine that Spielberg has also used in other films, such as Saving Private Ryan, and there may be some truth to this. However the simple truth is that this film depicts life during the holocaust as closely as we could imagine it sixty years on. Humanity would learn a great deal if our young were taught about the mistakes of the past, and films such as this should be a part of the educational curriculum in every country in the world (as is the case in countries such as Great Britain and New Zealand, where Schindler's List is a mandatory part of every 15 year old's history lessons).
Finally, if I were to find one fault with the film, it would be the final credit of the film - "Dedicated to the six million Jews who died in the holocaust". Spielberg seems to have conveniently forgotten the five million gypsies, physically handicapped, mentally handicapped etc. who were also murdered by Hitler's death squads. I believe the film should be dedicated to these people also, truly reflecting the thankfulness we should all have for a world in which Nazism did not prevail.