Almost Perfect, But Has One Serious Flaw

Rating: 9/10 (13 April 2008)

There are so many heartfelt words that describe the beauty, passion, and heartbreak of Schindler's List that it would be impossible to list them all. Spielberg's captivating story of how Oscar Schindler saved 1000's of Jews from the Nazi's death camps is one of the most inspirational moments ever captivated on film. Particularly brilliant (mild spoiler here) is the director's use of black and white photography, spare a haunting scene of a little girl in a red dress crying out "Goodbye Jews." It is absolutely chilling, and hauntingly spell-bounding.
The question is, why can't I give this movie perfect 10/10 stars? I have to mention another spoiler here to explain this. There is a scene in the movie that is a sharp contrast from reality where one of the trains that is supposedly headed for Auschwitz gets misrouted, and the prisoners on the train get a cold shower with water instead of the poison gas. This one scene has always bothered me. All documents of the Holocaust show that tragically, and horrifying, when the prisoners were forced to leave their homes to go to the death camps, they were either gassed to death or tortured to death by doing some of the cruelest labor work imaginable. If you survived, it was through some of the greatest courage and determination ever known, not because of a misrouted train and "regular" shower.
In reality, no one "escaped" with just a water shower. But here, instead of showing the realistic horror of the death camps, Spielberg pulls away from the reality by choosing "not to offend." This makes no sense to me. A movie about the Holocaust should be graphic, it should be horrifying, and realistic in its telling. "The Shower Scene" wants viewers to think "some lived because of a misrouted train." This one scene sugar-coats the horror of the death camps, and hurts what otherwise is so close to a perfect film. But I will tell you about a film that is just as good as Schindler's List, even better, because NOTHING is sugar-coated. It is the NBC mini-series from the late 70's, Holocaust. That picture is still the best Holocaust film ever made. Schindler's List could have been just as good as Holocaust. Unfortunately, the fictional shower scene hurts this otherwise landmark film.
(I also will copy this review to the Message Board, because I want as many people to see this comment as possible. I have a feeling that I am not alone in this view of the film.)