I was hesitant to choose another world war two themed film, given yesterday’s Saving Private Ryan, but very rarely do you find such a powerful and emotive piece of cinematography as is evident in Schindler’s List, taking us away from the dramatised blood-soaked beaches of Normandy into a very much more nuanced situation where emotion and moral arguments shine through. The 1993 film stars Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes and Ben Kingsley among the lead roles and is directed by Steven Spielberg, winning critical acclaim and seven academy awards including the best picture at the 1993 Oscars.
At the height of the third Reich’s power, German business man Oskar Schindler (Neeson) arrives in Krakow – a town in which the local polish-Jewish population is being forced into the already horrendously overcrowded ghettos by Nazi soldiers – hoping to make his fortune. As an avid member of the Nazi-party Schindler aims to win respect with officials and SS members using brides to gain ownership of a local factory. He enlists a workforce of Jewish workers as he deems them cheap labour, assigning control of all administrative duties to Itzhak Stern (Kingsley); a local Jewish man with contacts in black marketing. Schindler soon finds himself questioning his own morals, his beliefs and loyalties however and attempts to work covertly to prioritise saving lives rather than making profits after an epiphany at the hands of SS commander Amon Goth (Fiennes).
Schindler’s List – Thursday 10:30pm on Sky Cinema (Greats).
