SCHINDLER’S LIST (A 1993 film)

Schindler’s List, directed by Steven Spielberg, takes place during the Holocaust and is about a man, Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson), who, with his factory, saved thousands of Jews lives.
What are three themes presented in the film? Please be specific and give examples to support your ideas.
Theme 1: Being Unhappy with What You are Given
The theme of not being satisfied with what you are offered appears a few times in the film. One time is when Oskar is offering a deal about a factory to a few men but the men do not accept the offer, even though that is all that was going to be offered. Another time is when some of the Jews arrive in the ghetto and are not happy with how they will be leaving, even though the only other option was to die. Another time was when Oskar was not happy with his workers all being sent off to concentration camp or killed. One last time was when a woman comes to see him and tells him that she’s heard that his factory is a haven. She asks him if he would rescue her elderly parents and bring them to work in the factory. He then lashes out at her and ends up venting to another man about how that’s not what he wants his factory to be seen as.
Theme 2: Gratitude
One time where this theme is represented is when Oskar is sitting with his main assistant, Itzhak Stern, and is thanking him. Oskar tells Itzhak that he could not have built up the business that he did without him (Itzhak). Another time is when one of Oskar’s workers comes up to his office just to thank him for letting him (the man) work at the factory instead of going to concentration camp and to show his gratitude. Also, at one point Amon tells Oskar that he heard that he (Oskar) really knows the meaning of gratitude, how he likes just where he is and he doesn’t try to change it. Also, at a point in the movie, Oskar’s birthday is celebrated and he has a big fancy cake and everything like that. Suddenly, two of the workers from his factory, a woman and a young girl, come to bring him a birthday cake from all the workers. Oskar then, to show his gratitude, gives the young girl a kiss on each cheek and the woman a kiss on the lips.
Theme 3: Family
The theme of family definitely comes up a lot in the movie. One time is when all the Jews are being evacuated from the ghetto. One of the women and her daughter hides from them and then goes back to her house to hide under the floor. She lifts up the top to let the daughter in but the woman already in their, the other woman’s mother, tells her that there is not room. After the floor is shut again, the woman goes back outside and a kind boy (who’s helping the Nazi) tells her to hide under the staircase and then he tells the other soldiers that there’s no one there. Soon after this, the woman’s daughter comes out, not wanting to hide without her mother and they hide under the stairs together until the coast is clear. Another time is when Oskar goes after Itzhak when he is put on a train to concentration camp with other Jews. Oskar finds Itzhak on the train and immediately orders the train to stop, which it does. Itzhak is, in a way, like family to Oskar and he (Oskar) would not have been able to run his business as smoothly without Itzhak. Another time is when the women are separated from the men to go to a concentration camp. A lot of the women start screaming things about how they will not be separated from their husbands (they are anyway though). One last time is when the children are being taken away from the concentration camp (except for the ones that hid) and they pass by the women and men. The adults start running towards the cars full of children in the hopes of taking their children back before they were possibly killed at another camp.
According to the movie, what was life like in London during WWII?
The film did not take place in London but it definitely gave a very accurate portrayal of what life was like in Germany during the war in the ghettos and at the concentration camps. It gave a good idea of the fear and terrors that were sprung upon the Jews during the war.
What was your favorite scene? Why or why not?
One scene I liked was when the soldiers put the Jews on the train to be sent away. The Nazi’s would tell the Jews to label their luggage carefully so it would be found easily when it was shipped to them. In the end though, the soldiers just took out the contents of each suitcase and put it into different piles. I liked this scene because it gave me a different idea of what life was like during the holocaust. I thought that the Nazi’s were just straight out cruel to all the Jews but as it turns out at times the soldiers would tell them something that was not awful but then do the opposite. I also liked the scene where the old man came in the thank Oskar for letting him (the old man) work in the factory instead of a camp. I liked this because it showed how even though the jews were not living a life like the one they had before, they still were extremely grateful for what they had.
Do you recommend the film to others? Why or why not? What did you like about the film? What did you not like about the film?
I would definitely recommend this film to others because it was very well done and it gave a good portrayal of Nazi Germany during WWII. I would not recommend this to someone, like me, who does not react well to blood, a lot of shootings and/or nakedness (I didn’t know about them until they actually happened). I did not particularly like the nakedness but most of the time it only disgusted me yet did not exactly upset me because I knew it was there for a reason. There was one time though that I really did not like because the nakedness did not have much of a purpose. Amon and his wife had just woken up and Amon was shooting some of the Jews in the concentration camp diagonally below the balcony he was standing on. A few times the camera would go back to the wife, such as when she was talking, who was laying on the bed, topless. I wasn’t as much disgusted by this as I was annoyed with the fact that the scene would have been the same if the woman had been wearing a shirt of some sort. I liked how at first the beginning is very mysterious and you do not know much about what is going on. After a few minutes you learn who Oskar Schindler is (what he looks like mostly) and it draws you in more to learn about why Oskar is famous.