Spielberg's Masterpiece

By 1993, Steven Spielberg was a household name. His name was attached, either as director or producer, to some of the most popular and commercially successful movies in history. The list of his achievements is staggering: ''Jaws'', ''Close Encounters Of The Third Kind'', the ''Indiana Jones''series, ''E.T.'', ''Jurassic Park'', the ''Back To The Future'' series, etc. But, all of these movies were a buildup to his best movie, and work of art, ''Schindlers List.''.... The story around the film is ''based on actual facts''-- which means, that not everything you see in a movie really happened. Filmmakers are notorious for changing history under the banner of '' creative license''. This is done to serve the story for the best presentation to the public. For instance, in the movie, Ben Kingsley plays a character named '' Itzhak Stern''. In reality, there was no such person in the story of Oskar Schindler, but, rather, a composite of a few men. With this in mind, the power of the story should not be dismissed. It is very true, very horrible, very sad, and, ultimately, reaffirms the spirit of the soul and human nature... Oskar Schindler was a successful German businessman before and during the early years of World War Two. He owned factories that supplied materials to the German people. He was a charming and handsome man, who also was a notorious womanizer, which might explain his several failed marriages. During the war, he charmed , flattered, and bribed the Nazi soldiers so that he could continue to operate... Spielberg establishes this in the first scenes in the film. We meet Schindler, played superbly by Liam Neeson, in a nightclub as he is ingratiating himself with them. The purpose is , of course, to get them on his side for purely business reasons. The film then shifts its focus to the concentration camp scenes, and, the true horror of the movie's subject begins. We see scenes of Jews being driven from their homes. The Nazi soldiers routinely torture and murder these people. They are '' following orders'', as the party line goes, but, there seems to be a sadistic delight in what they are doing. Men, women, and children fall victim to death. Schindler watches all of this from a distance. At this point in the movie, Spielberg doesn't give a signal of what his feeling about all of this is. He is taking it all in, as we, the audience, is also.... After an hour of the movie has passed--- and, like all great movies, the time flies by--- we meet the new commander of the Plaszow concentration camp, Anon Goth, played chillingly by Ralph Fiennes. The character truly is the personification of human evil. He randomly takes target practice off his balcony, randomly killing Jews as his whim dictates. He overseas the liquidation of the ghetto-- called ''Operation Reinhard'',-- where there is mass killings of families. These scenes are so realistic and shocking that it is almost too painful to watch. But, the viewer must watch. These are the acts of genocide that have been going on for centuries, and, sadly, still go on. To not watch is to not know.... That is all of the story I want to tell. For those that haven't seen the movie, I leave the rest of the story for you to discover, which I urge you to do... I want to talk about the job Spielberg does here. We all have seen his movies and enjoy them. Steven Spielberg is a master flimmaker who always knows what his audience wants and gives it to them. He frames his movies in a way that make the audience remember individual moments. In some quarters, he is criticized for this, accused of manipulation of the audience. There may be some validity to these charges, but, this is not a bad thing. A filmmaker's job is to entertain. With '' Schindlers List'', Spielberg uses his gifts for emotional power to the utmost and succeeds because we need to feel the pain and horror of these people. Take for instance, the key moments for Oskar Schindler: the liquidation scenes where he spots a little girl in a red dress [ the film is shot in black and white, but, we see the red in the dress] the scenes on the train, the bodies piled up dead, his goodbye to the workers before he gets the car. Spielberg brings the basic need of most humans to care and love each other with such power that I have yet to watch this movie without crying... For me , these are the scenes that stayed with me. I have seen the movie about four times since its release. Every time I view the movie, it is emotionally unsettling. Some people I know refuse to see the film for this reason. Of course, I understand. It is not for everyone. Unlike other great movies, ''Schindlers List'' is not the type of movie you may throw on at the holidays or in a party situation. The viewer must be prepared in his or her own mind to watch it.... Without giving away the ending to people, I must say in all of my years watching movies and dissecting them, I have never seen an ending like this movie has. The combination of astonishment and respect and the possibility of human redemption is overpowering. If you are any kind of a decent person, and, I know you all are reading this, then it is impossible to not be, in your heart, with those people in the cemetary... Steven Spielberg has said in interviews that growing up he was ashamed of being Jewish. He grew up in a world of gentiles and he felt the sting of being ''different''. With this film, he claimed his heritage back and is now proud of his background... I truly wish that none of this madness happens again, but, it is happening while I type this and you are reading this. This is a dark stain on human history. If any one of us is , God forbid, in the situation of an Oskar Schindler, then I hope we conduct ourselves like he did... And, I hope there is a Spielberg there to document it so we don't ever forget it.....