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I’ve had Schindler’s List (Steven Spielberg 1993) at my house for a few weeks now (I really need to learn how to order my queue), but only just had the chance to watch it.
I had known the story of Oskar Schindler, the Nazi German who sought benefit from the German invasion of Poland. After witnessing the horror of a raid of one of the ghettos, Schindler crafted a plan to save 1,000 Jews from camps in order to have them work at his not-so-effective munitions factory.
But I had never been able to see the film.
I was rather amazed with the film. The haunting sound of a score consisted mostly of violins paired with editing that drew you into the relatively removed Jewish characters creates a compelling film about human suffering and hope.
The audience doesn’t get too familiar with any of the Jews that Schindler rescues, although you can recognize characters throughout the film as people he saves. And while in most films, this can be problematic, in Schindler’s List, you want to know these people and their stories, and the distance gives you an empty sense of desire. You cannot connect with them because they’ve been so subordinated. Instead, you see them as they are forced to run around a small area, showing off their physical endurance, as the Nazi officers separated those fit for work from those who would die more immediately. It reminded me of a distorted dog show, except scary.
I knew I would cry during this film. There really wasn’t any sense in denying it. What I did wonder, though, was when I would first cry. Would it be the raid of the ghetto that inspired Schindler’s plan? As I watched the little girl in the infamous red coat wander through the streets, representing the wayward and directionless masses of Jews as they were forced, like cattle, through the streets; I was sure I would cry. But no.
Maybe as Schindler (Liam Neeson) sits with the Nazi director of Paszlov, Amon Göth (Ralph Fiennes), in the heat and watches the as hoards of Jews are loaded up in train cars for transportation. In an attempt to show mercy on these people stripped of any sense of dignity, Schindler orders the fire hoses be taken out and used to spray into the train cars. I was very near tears when Göth starts to egg Schindler on. He easily twists this act of kindness in to an act of cruelty, pointing out that giving these people what water he is will only give them hope, an empty and pointless hope.
But no, I didn’t cry.
I bawled, though, as the healthy-enough-to-work adults were separated from the “sick.” For just a moment, these people are given a sense of reprieve; they’ve made it through the first round and escaped death. They have at least a little more time with their families until death knocks again. Except that moment of relief turns to terror as the group of workers realize where their small children have gone. During the commotion, the children were rounded up and brought to three trucks, where they were all boarded. The children sing together some tune and walk rather close together, reminding you of any small throng of kindergarteners on a field trip. They’ve been promised something good and are excited to see what it is. As the trucks drive away and the children’s families realize what’s happening, you can still hear the high-pitched voices of kids. While some may have been crying for their parents, who were yelling, screaming, and pleading for their children; the sound of their voices remained relatively happy. It reminded me of something you would hear on an elementary-school playground, not coming from a truck headed to death.
This use of purity and innocence to contrast the blind violence and hatred shown towards this population broke me. And I could not stop crying.
Sickly enough, I look forward to watching this film again. It’s a film that deserves a second watch to pick up on missed dialogue as well as to see the different social structures at work. Plus, it was a little loud and distracting where I was watching it, which made things rather difficult.
Schindler’s List will never be an easy movie to watch, but it’s a film that should be at the top of your list when you’re looking for a film to think about and cry through.
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