Reviews::Main

Director: Steven Spielberg Year: 1993 Language: English Country: America

Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson) is a wealthy businessman who upon the outbreak of World War II sets up a factory making pots and pans to sell to the German army. He staffs his factory with enslaved Jews under the guidance of his Jewish accountant Itzhak (Ben Kingsley). As the war progresses and the situation for the Polish Jews becomes more desperate, Schindler's factory becomes a safe haven for them culminating in Schindler saving 1200 from the horrors of Auschwitz by having them come work for him in a new venture in Czechoslovakia.

Based on a true story, the film tells this interesting piece of history well. Schindler is a fascinating character, a man who starts the film as a shrewd businessman and member of the Nazi party, his reason for employing the Jews in his factory is simply that he has to pay the government less than he would have to pay to hire Polish workers. As the film progresses, we see him come to realise the error of his ways and by the end, he is not happy that he did everything he could, despite saving over 1100 lives.

Shot in black and white, Schindler's List is well made and well directed and while the performances are pretty good from most of the cast, Neeson sometimes struggles with his accent.

All in all, a heartfelt and touching story of the holocaust.

Dave W - 25th July, 2010 - 17:15