Kim Gentes

Definitive era picture.

The power of this story is so much bigger than a retro-fitted modern movie with black and white sculpting. Spielberg cleanses something of his soul and ours when we are forced to take an honest look at the inhumanity of humanity through the eyes of these characters. People will hallow back to many tragedies as the eras pass, but no single tragedy has come close to the wiping out of 6 million Jews at the hands of Hitler. When I read some other reviews on Yahoo and other places harping on propaganda I can only imagine them as anti-Semites or simply ignorant.

The acting in this classic is not surface to stereotype at all (epitomized by the supportive roles of Ralph Fiennes and Ben Kingsley). Each person has a slice of brute and beauty. Schindler (the stand out career role played by Liam Neeson), though obviously the benefactor of many Jews, is not without his moral corruption and conflict. The one ray of innocence is perfectly captured by the children, as it should be. I thought the black and white coloring of the film was succinct and appropriate, bringing more realism to the story because it related one to the historical time period we can associate with the tragedy.

Spielberg, of course, is masterful in exposing the world of sound, movement, wistful, drudging and visceral action that he has the uncanny way of weaving into every part of cinema he makes, into this story. You are right there. Living it, hearing it, feeling it, thinking it.

An uncompromising masterpiece of film making.