Of Schindler's List



After a bloody long wait i finally finished downloading "Schindler's List" onto my computer.It couldve been done yesterday night,but the computer would not
co-operate,and slowed down to 0.02kbs when there's merely 6mbs left of download.You can imagine how frustrated i was,especially when the preview didnt exactly work.Anyway,so when i came home today after the study in school the first thing i did was to turn on Kazaalite and resumed the download.It was still crawling,but i didnt care much about it.

There arent a lot of movies out there that can move me.Like i told Corinna the other day,being a whiner back when i was a kid mustve drained my tears.Its so hard for me to shed a tear now,as if my eyeballs are experiencing a dryspell and everything's evaporated and dried up.Other than that ocassional tear when im dead tired at night,its an arid environment there in the iris.Oh well,this movie sure got me tearing.Man,it was so good i was clapping alone in my room when the movie was done.Mom thought i was nuts,but i couldnt help it.It was that good.

The movie directed by Steven Spielberg,is based on the story of Oskar Schindler(Liam Neeson)a Nazi businessman interested in obtaining Jewish backing for a factory he wishes to build.He makes contact with Itzhak Stern(Ben Kingsley),a Jewish accountant to arrange financial matters.Initially,Oskar was no different from an ordinary businessman,whose primary objective was the make profit.He hired Jewish workers because they were much cheaper than the Poles,and they worked in his factory DEF (Deutsche Emailwarenfabrik),a manufactory of pots and pans.

March 1943.Germany's intentions towards the Jews are no longer a secret.The Ghetto is "liquidated",with the survivors being herded into the Plaszow Forced Labor Camp. Many are executed,and still others are shipped away by train,never to return.During this time,Schindler has managed to ingratiate himself with the local commander,Amon Goeth(Ralph Fiennes),a Nazi who kills Jews for sport.Using his relationship with Goeth,Schindler begins to secretly campaign to help the Jews,saving men,women,and children from certain death.

Initially,Schindler was reluctant to help the Jews especially after his factory was rumored to be a Haven for the Jews.However,he began to help more and more Jews by buying them from these concentration camps,or bribing highly ranked officers for exchange or workers.His movement to safe the Jews were further elevated when he saw 10000 Jewish bodies were burnt together,and the ashes floated to his home as if it was snowing.His efforts were so intensed that at the end of the movie,Schindler had no money left with him at all.Everything was spent on saving the Jews,and their welfare.

Besides the story of Schindler himself,Spielberg captured the new images of old horrors.We already know what the gas chamber is like,or how the usual Holocaust movies were like.But this movie was totally different,in the sense that 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.A scene with a whole bunch of naked women crowding into a chamber and await their death.When the doors were locked and they were gathered,the lights went off and they started screaming and pleading for mercy.That scene was so powerful,it was disturbing.Another scene was the physical checkup scene.Again,it featured naked men and women,but this time it is worse.The women had a rumor amongst themselves that those who are unhealthy would be sent to the gas chamber,while the healthier ones would continue work.The women pierced their finger tips and applied blood on their faces as makeups to make themselves look healthier.Of course,the passed the test and they were hugging each other while putting on their clothes.From the corner of the barracks came roaring in truck loads of children,and the adults screamed in terror as their children waved at them.They rushed up and chased the trucks,but the trucks drove away and to the children's death.Perhaps one of the most memorable character is the girl in red.She has no lines,and the camera hardly has a shot on her face.However,he red dress stands out in this black and white movie as she moves through the streets and amongst the crowd.We see a glimpse of her once in a while towards the centre portion of the movie.As Oskar Schindler visits the burning corpses,he noticed that girl in red in one of the piles,dead.There are other equally horrific scenes,for example the man who had his head blown off,and the doctors feeding the patients poison so that they wont feel a think when killed.Hills of dead bodies burnt like rubbish,and truckload of corpses were just some of the images this movie produced.

The last scene with the surrender of the German Army and Oskar Schindler were one of the most emotional scenes ive seen in my entire life.As Oskar leaves his factory,the workers gave him a golden ring they made as a token of their gratitude.With that,he broke down and mourned at how many more lives how could have saved,if he sold his car or his Nazi pin.That scene was the tear jerker really.

There were a only a few scenes with color in this entire movie,with the beginning of the film and the very end.The Scabbath scene towards the end had the candles lid with colour.In my opinion,that signified hope amongst the Jewish,and that was a nice touch by the director.At the end,the film paid tribute to the survivors of the Holocaust,with the help of Schindler.It featured the survivors putting rocks and pebbles on the grave of Oskar Schindler one by one.Ive heard the soundtrack of this movie,but with that scene it was just an emotion rollercoaster altogether.

This film was awesome in so man ways,which explains why it won Best Picture and Best Director in 1994.Powerful,disturbing and emotional movie all in one.This is war movie at its best,and its a classic that shouldnt be missed by anybody.Of course,do prepare yourself when you watch it,because its not for anyone.

Ratings:10/10 (I wouldve given a 11)

Schindler's Website
Actual Schindler's List

Quotes of the Day:
[Oskar orders the workers to spray water at the Jews inside the train upon seeing their suffocation]
Amon Goeth,"This is very cruel,Oskar.You're giving them hope.You shouldn't do that. That's cruel!"

Oskar Schindler,"Stern, if this factory ever produces a shell that can actually be fired, I'd be very unhappy."

Oskar Schindler,"Look, All you have to do is tell me what it's worth to you. What's a person worth to you?"
Amon Goeth,"No,no,no,No.What's one worth to you!"

Amon Goeth,"I would like so much to reach out to you and touch you in your loneliness. What would it be like, I wonder? What would be wrong with that? I realize that you are not a person in the strictest sense of the word, but, um, maybe you're right about that too. Maybe what's wrong, it's not us, it's this... I mean, when they compare you to vermin, to rodents and to lice. I just, uh, you make a good point. You make a very good point. Is this the face of a rat? Are these the eyes of a rat? "Hath not a Jew eyes?" I feel for you Helen."
[leaning forward to kiss her]
Amon Goeth,"No, I don't think so. You Jewish bitch, you nearly talked me into it, didn't you?"

Amon Goeth,"You want these people?"
Oskar Schindler,"These people. My people. I want my people."
Amon Goeth," Who are you? Moses?"

Oskar Schindler,"I go into work the other day. Nobody's there. Nobody tells me about this, I have to find out. I have to go in,everybody's gone."
Amon Goeth,"No,no.They're not gone.They're here."
Oskar Schindler,"They're mine!"

[To Stern, upon closing the factory deal]
Oskar Schindler,"My father was fond of saying you need three things in life - a good doctor, a forgiving priest, and a clever accountant. The first two, I've never had much use for."

[Goeth admires Schindler's his suit]
Amon Goeth,"It has a nice sheen to it. What is it, silk?"
Oskar Schindler,"Of course! I'd say I'd get you one but the man who made it's probably dead."

Amon Goeth,"They cast a spell on you, you know, the Jews. When you work closely with them, like I do, you see this. They have this power. It's like a virus. Some of my men are infected with this virus. They should be pitied, not punished. They should receive treatment because this is as real as typhus. I see it all the time. It's a matter of money?"

Itzhak Stern,"How many cigarettes have you smoked tonight?"
Oskar Schindler,"Too many."
Itzhak Stern,"For every one you smoke, I smoke half."

Itzhak Stern,"This list is an absolute good. The list is life. All around its margins lies the gulf."

Oskar Schindler,"Power is when we have every justification to kill, and we don't."
Amon Goeth,"You think that's power?"
Oskar Schinder,"That's what the Emperor said. A man steals something, he's brought in before the Emperor, he throws himself down on the ground. He begs for his life, he knows he's going to die. And the Emperor... pardons him. This worthless man, he lets him go."
Amon Goeth,"I think you are drunk."
Oskar Schindler,"That's power,Amon.That is power."

[Addressing his workers at the end of the war]
Oskar Schindler,"The unconditional surrender of Germany has just been announced. At midnight tonight, the war is over. Tomorrow you'll begin the process of looking for survivors of your families. In most cases... you won't find them. After six long years of murder, victims are being mourned throughout the world. We've survived. Many of you have come up to me and thanked me. Thank yourselves. Thank your fearless Stern, and others among you who worried about you and faced death at every moment. I am a member of the Nazi Party. I'm a munitions manufacturer. I'm a profiteer of slave labor. I am... a criminal. At midnight, you'll be free and I'll be hunted. I shall remain with you until five minutes after midnight, after which time - and I hope you'll forgive me - I have to flee."
[He addresses the factory's SS guards]
Oskar Schindler,"I know you have received orders from our commandant, which he has received from his superiors, to dispose of the population of this camp. Now would be the time to do it. Here they are; they're all here. This is your opportunity. Or, you could leave, and return to your families as men instead of murderers."
[The guards gradually exit; he addresses the workers again]
Oskar Schindler,"In memory of the countless victims among your people, I ask us to observe three minutes of silence."

Oskar Schindler,"I could have got more out. I could have got more. I don't know. If I'd just...I could have got more."
Itzhak Stern,"Oskar, there are eleven hundred people who are alive because of you. Look at them."
Oskar Schindler,"If I'd made more money... I threw away so much money. You have no idea. If I'd just..."
Itzhak Stern,"There will be generations because of what you did."
Oskar Schindler,"I didn't do enough!"
Itzhak Stern,"You did so much."
[Schindler looks at his car]
Oskar Schindler,"This car. Goeth would have bought this car. Why did I keep the car? Ten people right there. Ten people. Ten more people."
[Removing Nazi pin from lapel]
Oskar Schindler,"This pin. Two people. This is gold. Two more people. He would have given me two for it, at least one. One more person. A person, Stern. For this."
[Schindler finally breaks down]
Oskar Schindler,"I could have gotten one more person... and I didn't! And I... I didn't!"

Itzhak Stern,"It's Hebrew, it's from the Talmud. It says, "Whoever saves one life, saves the world entire."
---"Schindler's List"(1993)