Schindler's List

I was told that when my Dad and brother went to see Schindler's List when it first came out in the cinema they drove all the way home and did not say a word to each other, after watching it this weekend I can see why.

I am by no means an avid film goer and in no way would I call myself a film lover. But recently I have tried to make myself watch more and more films and in particular watch those movies that have always been recommended to me. Schindler's List lived up to all the hype.

The use of Black and White film was a fantastic choice by Spielberg, immediately tapping into not only the era but giving the movie a strange quality that made you feel as if everyone was equal, the same. There were no overpowering uniforms or the like, everyone was the same, although of course they weren't. Following on from that choice was of course the powerful image of the one girl in red whose very presence seems to change Schindler's outlook on everything and leads him to save the very people he was exploiting. Her death seems to spark Schindler's conscience and it is this single element of the film that for me makes it stunningly breathtaking.

It is not a movie I would watch again in a hurry though. The powerful and graphic nature of it for me makes it unique but it is this that makes it so hard to watch it. It's a struggle but if you've never seen it believe the hype, it is a well deserved Oscar winner.