Schindler's List

Recommended by: Gintare Riepsaite

Age-Rating: R (language and violent scenes)

It's 1939, in Krakow, when businessman Oskar Schindler arrives to make his fortune from the recently-started World War II. After joining the Nazi party primarily for political convenience, he staffs his factory with Jewish workers. However, when the SS begins exterminating Jews in the Krakow ghetto, Schindler arranges to have his workers protected to keep his factory in operation, but soon realizes that in so doing, he is also saving innocent lives.

“Whoever saves one life, saves the world entire.”

My Review

Chilling is probably the most accurate term to describe Schindler's List. Although it's not a horror movie, it’s a depiction of the industrialized murder that was the Holocaust, and of a German businessman who became an unlikely hero. This film possesses the power to build a rollercoaster of emotions for the viewers: from shock, to making you feel sick to your stomach, to filling you with rage and then leaving you devastated. And yet the film offers us both hope and a chance to see the power of human kindness, not from some superhero, but rather from a flawed man who saw what was happening around him and did something to help. This was a perfect snapshot of what happened in those days. However, it wasn't like sitting through a history lesson, rather, it was like a sort of flashback into those horrific events. The brutality and horror shown here allows one to witness the barbaric destruction and murder of an entire race. Because of this, some scenes may be difficult to watch for some, due to the sheer graphic depictions. So, if you are planning on giving this film a try, keep in mind the traumatic events it is based on.