The Importance Of One Man

Rating: 10/10 (7 March 2017)

When watching a movie like "Schindler's List", there are so many ways that it can be appreciated. It's a history lesson, an intense drama, and a gripping character study all at once. For me, however, the film really hits home with the realization of the difference that one person can make in the grand scheme of things.
For a basic plot summary, "Schindler's List" focuses on Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson), a high- ranking member of the Nazi party during World War II. When the German Nazis invade Poland and begin rounding up Jews into ghettos, Schindler sees it as strictly a business operation, opening up his own pots-and-pans factory using Jewish labor. While raking in the dough on the backs of the Jews, however, Schindler begins to see the escalating brutality of the Nazis and is eventually appalled by their treatment at the concentration camps. Thus, he creates a list of workers that he ultimately hopes to protect from the brutality.
As a history-based epic, "Schindler's List" manages to capture the essence of the moment AND yet still be subtle about it at the same time. Director Steven Spielberg strikes the perfect balance between drama and realism. The acting performance from Ralph Fiennes as the Nazi Commandant is especially shocking for its ability to depict the brutality of those camps. Essentially, this is a movie that should be shown to American high school students at least once during their education for its ability to show the true horrors of the holocaust.
Perhaps the true hallmark of the movie, though, is the character evolution of Mr. Schindler. He starts off as nothing more than a ruthless businessman, but over time (and it quite literally takes almost every minute of the film's 3+ hour runtime to come to fruition) he begins to realize not only the horrors transpiring around him, but also that he has the power (and thus the responsibility) to do something about it. To me, that was the most endearing message that I took from the overall experience.
Thus, I consider "Schindler's List" to be a masterpiece of American cinema (although, what should I have expected from Mr. Spielberg?!). It is compelling on both a historic and personal level simultaneously. Even though it is quite long, there are very few wasted moments.