Well intended, but extremely flawed

Rating: 3/10 (23 December 2001)

By making this movie, Spielberg reportedly wanted to increase awareness of the holocaust. In this regard, he probably succeeded. But that should not cloud the fact that this is a very mediocre to bad movie. The acting is, save for Kingsley, stale and in some instances, such as the train to Auschwitz scene, almost aching to an Ed Wood movie (I assume these women were not professional actors). The story is clumsily told, the symbolism (red dress) heavy handed and the psychology of some characters (such as Goetz's scene in front of the mirror) very simple minded. A few scenes did work for me. I thought that the shower scene was well done and intense, and I do not feel that it was too exploitative in the context of the movie. Also, the shot of the smoking chimney was eerie, but this has been lifted from other movies. What really did bring the film to its knees was the speech at the end. My god! This was even worse than Steven Seagal's at the end of 'Fire Down Below'.
If you want to learn about the holocaust, pick up a history book or watch some of the many documentaries on the subject. It will not be pleasant, but you'll learn so much more than from this movie.