Seeing Schindler’s List for the first time in March 2022 is like vomiting on Vladimir Putin’s “rescue and de-Nazification” of Ukraine, unfolding in all of its bloody gory/glory 24/7.
Liam Neeson gives the performance of a lifetime as the Czech industrialist Oskar Schindler who savours his brandy and, apparently, is more interested in making cash than saving Jewish lives.
Chief accountant/the brains behind the enterprise, Ben Kingsley is a master of the ledgers and Yellow Stars doing almost all that he’s asked in the persona of Itzhak Stern.
Ralph Fiennes readily portrays evil incarnate, Commandant Amon Goeth.
John Williams’ largely weepy score only shines when Itzhak Perlman’s unerring bow takes stage.
The remainder of the ensemble cast are convincing, whether being shot for no reason, protected by the unlikely hero, or wishing they were fighting on the winning side.
At 195 minutes, most of today’s audiences would have hit the stop button before the first of Steven Spielberg’s plot points sink in (e.g., even making money trumps death and destruction during armed conflicts).
But for those who stick around there’s a double payoff: The Nazis losing and Goeth being summarily executed; the realization that the deliberately downtrodden have unexpected supporters from within the ranks of the “enemy”.
All of which leaves only one question now: Who will be the Ukrainian/Russian “Schindler” from within the butcher Putin’s failed state? JWR