The List is Life

Some events in history are so tragic and horrific that they cannot be truly depicted in words or history books, but must be shown through pictures or video. When these types of events are shown through great film, the end result may have a lasting effect on the viewer, burning the images and lessons of the tale in the viewer's mind forever. One such film is Schindler's List, directed by Stephen Spielberg and starring Ben Kingsley and Liam Neeson.

Schindler's List is the story of one man's fight to save as many Jews from the horrors of the Holocaust as he can. Though initially he buys the Jews for profit, he soon learns of the atrocities the Nazis commit against the people, and through the influence of his Jewish accountant, he eventually spends all of his money to buy hundreds of Jewish workers to keep them from being sent to the death camps. Though Schindler himself is not the most upright man in the world, his actions to save others cause us to overlook his mistakes and bad habits, to see the greater good within him.

Schindler's List is based on real life events that happened during World War II. Spielberg used the experiences of surviving Schindler Jews (as they are now called) to tell the story of how Schindler saved them. Though some of the experiences might be altered or exaggerated to suit the film, these stories add to the somber reality of the horrifying events that happened not only to these people, but to other Jews and prisoners of the Nazis. The director does take some liberties with some of the real events, but this does not detract from the credibility of the film and the characters.

The cast consisted of a few trained professional actors such as Ben Kingsley and Liam Neeson. These two were not major stars at the time, but the lack of such "star power" set up the film so that it could be watched for the content and the story, and not for who was cast in it. The rest of the cast was generally played by nonprofessional performers. These performers might have had small roles with little to no dialect, but they looked the part and fit right in to their roles, adding what was needed to the story. Though they might not have been well-known, they played their parts very well and added what was needed for the film to be a success.

This film heavily relies on music to set the mood of the scene, and it does it very well. In many instances the key instrument in the music is the violin. The use of the violin creates a very sad and depressing mood for the scenes and is there to make us feel the sorrow and sadness that the Jews were feeling. Eerily, the music was used in a very symbolic and ironic sense too. In one of the more heart wrenching scenes of the film, Schindler is at the top of the hill overlooking a Jewish ghetto that is being "liquidated" by the Nazis. As Schindler looks on, he notices a very small Jewish girl wearing a red coat walking through the streets. The young girl is almost completely oblivious to the death and destruction that is all around her as she calmly walks through the streets, looking for a building to hide in. During this scene, the music played is a Jewish children's song, typically sung in school. While normally this song would not be considered sad at all, the voices of the children creeps into our minds and hearts and has a disturbing effect on us.

Spielberg also sets the mood of the film by putting the film in black and white. While making the film in black and white does make it seem that the film was actually created during World War II and helps to establish the time period, it also serves a deeper purpose. The lack of color seems to add a dreary environment to the situation. Even while there may not be any killing within a specific scene, the characters might even be happy at the moment, we still know what is happening all around them, and we know their future is extremely uncertain and they could be killed at any moment for no reason at all. In a few scenes, some color is added to show emphasis, or to show something of importance. In the scene with the little girl that I talked about earlier, everything is in black and white except for the girl's red coat. This is important later in the film, but also in this point in time to emphasize Schindler's focus on this girl. Later in the film we see a cart of corpses rolling by. On it is a dead little girl in a red coat.

Spielberg uses many close-up shots throughout the film to show the deep emotion of the characters, often showing their duress and sorrow, or showing the joy that the Nazi camp leader receives from killing Jews. It also shows him and other Nazis during times of anger and happiness, including their time with Schindler at the parties and clubs. I think these scenes were important in showing that the Nazis weren't some monsters that killed with no emotion, but were in fact human beings, these were men and women with their own families. It showed us what we don't want to believe: that seemingly regular human beings can be capable or such atrocities.

This film is a great piece of art. The combination of great effects, spectacular acting, and a soul-reaching soundtrack make for a film that will never be forgotten by anyone that sees it. It serves a bigger purpose than just entertainment, and makes us remember our past, and hopefully will make us never forget that life, not only our own but anyone's, is to be cherished and protected.