Schindler’s List (1993)
English
Steven Spielberg
Schindler’s List (1993) is undoubtedly Spielberg‘s most serious film and one of Hollywood’s most fresh films. Spielberg’s portrayal of the German industrialist who traded his wealth for the lives of hundreds of Jews provided the industry a benchmark in almost all aspects of film making. Ralph Fiennes plays the chief of the Nazi camp, Amon Goeth, and Liam Neeson plays the title character.
Oskar is troubled by the atrocities he has witnessed during his stay at the camp. He is not able to come to terms with the mindless killing of the workers at the camp. The scene I going to talk about is my favorite in the movie where Amon Goeth and Oskar Schindler are at the former’s birthday party and sitting on the balcony. Goeth is heavily drunk and points out how sober Oskar is even though he has drunk much. The following conversation ensues.
Oskar: Why do you drink that motor oil? I send you good stuff all the time. Your liver’s going to explode like a hand grenade.
Amon: You know, the more I look at you… I watch you! You’re never drunk. Oh, that’s… that’s real control. Control is power. That’s power.
Oskar: Is that why they fear us?
Amon: We have the fucking power to kill, that’s why they fear us.
Oskar: They fear us because we have the power to kill arbitrarily. A man commits a crime, he should know better. We have him killed, and we feel pretty good about it. Or we kill him ourselves and we feel even better. That’s not power, though. That’s justice. It’s different than power. Power is when we have every justification to kill… and we don’t.
Amon: You think that’s power?
Oskar: That’s what the emperors had. A man stole something… he’s brought in before the emperor… he throws himself down on the ground, he begs for mercy. He knows he’s going to die. And the emperor, pardons him. This worthless man. He lets him go.
Amon: I think you are drunk.
Oskar: That’s power, Amon. That, is power!
The video of this conversation is given here:
The following day, Goeth witnesses one of his servants bumbling and he decides to “pardon” him. Surprised, the boy exits the house. Goeth tries to feel the “power” as mentioned by Oskar only to look stupid. He immediately takes a rifle and shoots the boy to death from the balcony as Itzhak Stern (Ben Kingsley) watches on.
Amon Goeth has returned to his former self.
What is love? Is it the inevitable sensual desire that arouses? Is it only bodily game played by the hormones? Can science explain all loves? Or is it something that transcends reasoning? These are issues explored in Kieślowski’s Krótki Film O Milosci (1988). Released as an extended version of an episode from Kieślowskis phenomenal TV series Dekalog, Krótki Film O Milosci was shamelessly ripped off (including the title) for the Indian version Ek Choti Si Love Story.
Cinema has evolved from being a medium of documentation and story-telling and to a medium of providing social, political and spiritual commentary of the era involved. But all such movies are not accepted with open arms. Tastes differ and so do ideologies. Films that have been against the political and religious ideologies of key organizations and powerful people have been shunned and their makers condemned. This was especially true of the films that were made in communist countries such as USSR and East-Germany. One such gem that came from the Czech Republic is Milos Forman’s Horí, Má Panenko (1967).
Once in a while, there comes a movie that shatters the beliefs of people on cinema and redraws the lines between right and wrongs of the medium. These are the films that redefine the boundaries of film making thus providing new standards and freedom for films to come. At a time when swearing on screen was a taboo, came the classic Gone With The Wind (1939) with the legendary “Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn.” quote. A Clockwork Orange (1971) that questioned induced goodness and evil in a very strong way, Straw Dogs (1971), famous for its graphic rape scene, Un Chien Andalou (1929) that introduced surrealism in cinema, the semi-snuff Cannibal Holocaust (1980) and its brutality – all these movies may have been snubbed by audience and critics at the time of their release, but no one can question their impact on the future generation of directors.
I’m sure many would have watched Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs (1992) or Pulp Fiction (1994) and become fascinated with the style of film making – Long conversations about…er, just conversations, dark humour, petty issues magnified, weird characters. Though Tarantino was influenced much by the works of Godard, the effect of Truffaut’s Tirez Sur Le Pianiste (1960) on his style cannot be written off. Tirez Sur Le Pianiste primarily acts as a cross between the 50’s film-noir style and Hitchcock’s troubled characters.
During a war, more than armies and governments, it is the children who are affected most. The images of the atrocities and violence in the war makes an impact that is life-changing for them. The subject of children of war has been a less tackled one when it comes to Cinema. Andrei Tarkovsky’s Ivan’s childhood (1962) gave as an immensely personal account of war as seen by the title character. Another critical film on the same subject is Elem Klimov’s Idi I Smotri (1985). The film is hailed as one of the best anti-war films for its depiction of the influence of war on children.
Michael Haneke‘s disturbing portrayal of an aging music teacher is definitely not for every one. Very graphic in nature and strongly thematic, La Pianiste (2001) attempts to simply document its central characters rather than offering a judgment on their conduct. A truly multi-layered film with characters that can be analyzed for hours.
Ingmar Bergman‘s Oscar-winning film is the first of the “Faith” trilogy and is followed by 
La Peau Douce (1964) is perhaps François Truffaut‘s least talked about good movie. Release alongside Jacques Demy‘s big favorite Les Parapluies De Cherbourg, La Peau Douce could well be called “eclipsed” by the former. From the outside the film could be written off as a mild drama, the characters in the films have much more impact than any melodrama. At first watch, it is but natural to think of Woody Allen‘s wonderful film Match Point – An illicit affair, the secrets revealed, tensions high for protecting egos. But neither is the film as verbose or as happening as Match Point.
The Seventh Art 