Flawless, moving. A masterpiece.

Rating: 10/10 (19 August 1999)

Let's set the record straight, once and for all. I do not like "Schindler's List." I do not enjoy watching it. If I'd have my choice, I'd never see it again, ever. But of course, I don't have any choice in the matter, because it's simply too disturbing to never see again. I don't believe there is any finer monument to the horrors of the Holocaust than Steven Spielberg's "Schindler's List." People may tell us of the horrors, of the concentration camps, of the deaths, but this film puts us there, among the survivors.
This is, of course, Spielberg's crowning achievement. As far as I am concerned, there is no other film ever made anywhere that has the power and emotion of "Schindler's List," least of all the technical expertise that is so evident here. For instance, Janusz Kaminski's frenetic camera work whips us through the ghettos in such a way that we can not help but be terrified, and yet is calm enough to let us catch a breath, cry a tear. This is also, in my opinion, John Williams' finest score. It is so sparse, so beautiful. For any classical music fans, I can only compare this score to Henryk Gorecki's Third Symphony, "A Symphony of Sorrowful Songs." But I'm getting off the topic.
The acting is flawless, with performances from the likes of Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes. And, of course Steven Zaillian's moving script that puts us everywhere, from the heart of the horror to the outskirts of it.
Let me go back to what I said at the beginning of this review. I do not like "Schindler's List." I love it. And yet, I don't love it quite it the way that I love any other film. What I can do is recommend it without reservation to anybody who has never seen it. There is no better film than this. Period.
Of special note, Spielberg apparently donated a copy of this film to every American high school. I can not thank him enough for that, because it was in class that I first saw "Schindler's List." I just pray that others have been as affected by it as I have.
**** out of ****.