Underdeveloped

Rating: Null/10 (13 October 2007)

Schindler's List is a movie whose technical aspects on the whole cannot be faulted, but at the same time this perfection inevitably becomes a weakness in the film's heart. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the movie and certainly regard it as the most brutal and realistic depictions of the holocaust that I've seen. Whether or not it works as a movie however, is a whole different question. After watching for the first time I don't regard Schindler's List as perfect, but still regard it as an important piece of film because of the history it depicts so powerfully, regardless of its few faults as a movie.
On an aesthetic side, the film is perfect. The soundtrack fits the themes and action on screen perfectly and memorably, creating an atmosphere suiting to the film's focus. The performances from the cast are all very well done also, with only a few problems every now and again. The photography also is flawless, using black and white with mixes of colour effectively and with astonishing results often not thought possible with the limitations of the style.
The writing itself is sharp and well done, managing to recreate a dark period in human history as though it was outside our windows, ready to be filmed. My problem however lies in the writing of the tragedy and the obvious unbalanced focus on characters. You see the film does manage to convey a completely disgusting, repelling and shocking world ruled by oppressors following orders with little compassion for an entire race of people. It does this by repeatedly showing unjustified and casual killings of innocent civilians, carried out by the Nazis. I'm not saying these scenes were not well done, in fact when viewing them I was firmly on the film's side, taken in by its honesty and gruesome realism. However as the film dragged on I began to notice that these people who were dying were people I didn't know of nor really cared about (Please note at this point that I am reviewing a movie, not history). This occurs because I felt Schindler's List devoted far too much screen time developing its oppressors rather than showing more of the oppressed. So when it comes to yet another execution, I am predictably enraged and disgusted with the executioner, but am I sad or guided to feel anything for the poor person who's now lying dead? Not really. I mean, yes I find it horrifying and tragic, but show any killing on screen and you're probably going to react in this way. Here in lies where Schindler's List is brought down from superior cinema to a sentimentally bankrupt historical movie: The film is extremely powerful and emotional throughout, but unfortunately it is always in a negative manner.
I also found the ending to the film completely unconvincing and detracting to the events that take place beforehand. I refer here to both Schindler breaking down and fretting over how many more prisoners he could have saved, and the modern day footage of the survivors visiting Schindler's grave. Both ordeals come off as extremely misplaced, emotionally contrived and absurdly mawkish. They left me with an unfortunate sour taste after a solid couple of hours of well intentioned film.
Please recognise however that despite these problems, I did find the film a good watch albeit quite a taxing one. If there is one thing I can give the film absolute praise for it is that it has opened my eyes a great deal to the suffering and injustice that the Jewish people went under whilst under the control of the Nazis during World War II. It is a film that will stay with me forever no doubt, leaving images that probably should never be forgotten.