Schindler's List (1993)

 

Gorgeous film. Pretty damn brutal, though. 

Yes, of course there will be more. 

Oskar Schindler is a German industrialist looking to make some massive bucks during the war, as so many others. He is a suave and clever gentleman who knows that he needs the right contacts in order to get the right (and profitable) contracts, so he spends quite a lot of time wooing and bribing high ranking Nazi officials. This does give him the means to open an enamelware factory in Krakow where he can also employ Jewish people, as they don't need to get paid. 

His accountant Itzhak Stern (Ben Kingsley) uses this to the advantage of several people, as they can get away from the terrible conditions of the ghetto and barter for goods outside. Also, it's a damn sight better than working for most of the other Nazis. 

Things take a turn for the worse when a camp is erected in Plaszow and Amon Goeth comes to take control of said camp. This is a slave labour camp and all of Schindler's people are drafted here. Goeth is a barbaric little shit who drinks a lot and kills people without thinking twice. No, he isn't some abominable monstrous entity, just not a nice man, which is putting it mildly. 

And yes, such people exist in real life.

By this time, Schindler sees his workers are more than just a cheap workforce and tries to save as many of them as he can and by the end of the war, he has managed to keep 1,100 people from being transported to Auschwitz and certain annihilation. 

This is one heck of a kick in the nuts, that's for certain. The actors are all great. Liam Neeson does an excellent turn as Schindler, a swindler first but a genuinely warm human being by the end. He just has one scene that has that Spielberg schmalz dialled up to eleven, which is when he laments not being able to save some more people. It stands out as being out of character and just doesn't really fit in with the rest, but it is a minor fret. Ben Kingsley is his great self as Itzhak Stern, the man who actually ran everything for Schindler. 

Oh, and can we take a moment to appreciate how brilliant Ralph Fiennes is as Amon Goeth? This is probably the most despicable human being he has ever played and yet he keeps it fairly low key, as Goeth was still a man, not a monster in the mystical sense, but a man doing horrendous things. He is genuinely disturbing, more so than any fictional serial killer. 

This film is brutal, because it is presented so matter-of-factly. Spielberg shot this in black and white to make everyone feel the grimness and nearly everything was done with a handheld camera, so the slight tremors and shakes also create this uneasy feeling. What is especially unnerving is that the violence and abuse isn't overdone. In fact, it is presented straight, no fancy details, just brutal honesty and this makes stuff like summary executions hit home much harder. Most films overdo everything, this one strips it all down and gives you that knot in the stomach that you should have by observing how absolutely alien humanity could be to others when the situation presents itself. 

Claiming this is a must-see would be woefully underrepresenting just how strong this feature is. Spielberg has many excellent films under his belt, but this one is not only his most personal, but also his most gut-punching and therefore by far one of the best he has ever done.