The Triumph of The Human Spirit

Rating: 10/10 (29 November 2009)

I just have to chime in and agree with all the praise heaped on this movie. A movie is great when it shows a fundamental truth. What is the fundamental truth of this movie? The truth is that sometimes people will have an extraordinary reaction to evil around them, and can change their basic nature. Why is this so powerful? Because it is so rare. Most people do not change their nature. Especially when confronted by situations where it is easier to just go along. Oskar Schindler makes a moral choice to not go along. It is tough. It is dangerous. Yet, he makes the choice.
I was once watching a show about the holocaust. The show was about a recently discovered photo album, by one of the killers taken at Auschwitz. One comment that one of the narrators said really stuck with me. "What made these people so monstrous, was that they were not monsters." That is the true horror. Ordinary people during this time period were just doing there "jobs". In other words, what was so horrible about the Holocaust, was not that these people were deviants, but that they were so ordinary, and that this happened in our lifetime.
In the movie Oskar Schindler starts out as an opportunist. He realizes that he can become very rich by moving to Poland and taking advantage of the desperate situation that has arisen there. He does this in a masterful way, and soon becomes very rich. Gradually he realizes what is going on around him he decides that he has to make a choice. The choice is incredibly courageous. What was so extraordinary about his choice was that so few people like him did so during this time period. After the war, most absolved themselves of their responsibility by saying, "I was only following orders." An amazing story. Highest possible rating.
Offbeat trivia about this movie This movie was also written into a script of Seinfeld. Jerry and his current girlfriend haven't been able to be alone. He decides to take here to a movie to make out. What movie does he take her to? This one! This has to be one of the funniest scenes ever in a comedy series. Who could write a scene that is potentially so offensive, but yet hysterical. Much hilarity ensues when Jerry is spotted making out during the movie by a relative.