Schindler's List

Spielberg's sensitive precision, Williams's music, Kaminsky's cinematography, Neeson's eyes, Fiennes's villain, Kingsley's everything, the little girl in the red dress walking through the black and white film... An unforgettable story. PS: Finally seen in the cinema on the occasion of the 25th anniversary. Indescribable experience. (2008-01-15)

The right-wing view of the Holocaust is not something I agree with, but at the very least it's refreshing to be able to deal with it these days. Schindler's List could easily be read as a defense of capitalism, whose values are "supra-ideal" and pragmatic, making it incapable of the irrational evil that the Holocaust is generally considered to be (which is conveniently myopic, of course, since every young child knows about its economic motivations). Equally, it can be read as advocacy of a trickle-down economy, whereby a wealthy factory worker develops a relationship with his employees, tries to keep them, and gradually sees them as human beings whom he can use his abilities to save. That makes this film have far more problematic levels than the 100 times rehashed closing sentiment (as awful as it is). However, Spielberg and Kaminski (whose creative input here I tend to place higher than the director's; after all, look at what kind of cinematic leap this is from Jurassic Park or Hook) have managed to translate the methodical chaos of the Holocaust to the screen perfectly in several scenes here, creating the illusion of a documentary and a surreal nightmare at the same time, as the situation must have had on many in retrospect. Nemes's Son of Saul is a few paces farther ahead in this, but I think it stands on the foundation of what Schindler's List built in certain places. (2022-01-13)

Definitely one of the best films Steven Spielberg ever made. It's a powerful story, which is also told quite brutally at times, which might be surprising, even coming from Spielberg, or at least it was surprising in 1993. Great performances by the cast, which even the classic Spielberg pathos, though very subdued, does not ruin. (2016-05-29)

If there is one single example of a film that is both excellent and thematically important, it is Schindler's List. Where else could you feel the indescribable horror and shame of the human deeds you have just seen, photographed in the most horrifying but at the same time most beautiful black and white composition imaginable? The scene with the little girl in the red coat, walking as a symbol of colourful innocence through pure hell, is probably the most powerful I have ever seen in a film, and it brings tears to my eyes every time; and even if it was the only one in the whole movie, I'd still never get this film out of my head – but it's not, not even close. Masterpiece. (2018-05-05)

When Spielberg puts forward his most fundamental mental dilemma alongside opinions and beliefs, nothing can arise but the strongest and extra tasty cinematic coffee and his intellectual peak. While Schindler's transformation from an ordinary citizen to an unstoppable advocate for all neighbors gains intensity perhaps a bit inconspicuously, during grand scenes and perfectly credible streams of thoughts from the mouths of the main characters, it becomes all the more emphatic. A truly unique and irreplicable work in its own way, in every aspect. (2005-12-30)