Schindler's List

Today, the whole sophomore class watched the movie, Schindler's List. People think of Schindler's List as a horrifying and gruesome but after watching it myself, I think it is an excellent movie. Probably one of the best movies I've seen yet. Steven Spielberg does such a great job showing the tension and fear of the Jews that the audience has the same feeling. To be honest, i did not know that much about the Holocaust until I watched the movie. I only knew the general situation and maybe some minor details. I didn't even know who Schindler was. Another one of my favorite movies is also about the Holocaust called Valkyrie was very similar to Schindler's List in the way that Claus von Stauffenberg was trying to kill Hitler to end the war so there would be no more killings. Except in Schindler's List, Schindler bought the Jews himself and tried his best to save them. At the end of the film, he said that he failed and he could have saved more but I think he was a good enough man just to save the 1,100 Jews he did save. The little things that he did may seem not important to others but they were amazing many more. The reason why I idolize Oskar Schindler is because he had a heart of his own and followed it instead of being stubborn like all the other Nazi soldiers. That was the only difference between him and the others. The others knew about what was happening but they were scared they would be punished if they did not follow the "system".

Schindler's List gives us three major stories and a host of minor ones. First and foremost, it tells the tale of the Holocaust, presenting new images of old horrors. These are as ghastly and realistic as anything previously filmed, and Spielberg emphasizes the brutality of the situation by not pulling punches when it comes to gore. The blood, inky rather than crimson in stark black-and-white, fountains when men and women are shot in the head or through the neck. The second story is that of Oskar Schindler, the Nazi businessman who saved 1,100 Jews from death. Schindler starts out as a self-centered manufacturer, concerned only about making money. He hires Jews because they're cheap, not because he likes them. But his perspective changes, and he risks losing everything to save as many lives as he can. His eventual lament that he couldn't save more is heartbreaking. The third story belongs to Amon Goeth, the Nazi commander of Krakow, a man who teeters on the brink of madness. Despite his intense hatred for Jews, he is inexplicably attracted to his Jewish housekeeper, Helen Hirsch . The amazing part is that it describes the situations in a Disgusted by his feelings, he lashes out at her with a display of violence that is almost Scorsese-like in its blunt presentation. As written, Goeth could easily have become a conscienceless monster, but Spielberg works carefully to show unexpected depth and complexity to his character. Often, the experiences of the minor characters provide the most lasting images. Helen's story is memorable, as is the plight of young Danka Dresner and her mother as they strive to avoid death while staying together. There's a Jewish couple that marries in the Plaszow camp, even though their chances of survival are dim, and a Rabbi who survives a close encounter with a Nazi gun.