The Schindler's List

The Schindler’s List opens up with a close up of hands lighting a pair of Shabbat (Sabbath) candles, followed by the sound of a Hebrew prayer blessing the candles it sounds similar to the call to prayer for Muslims minus the embellished throaty notes. The wisp of dying flames fades into the next scene, now in black and white and becomes a plume of smoke from a steam engine. A folding table is setup on the train platform where a single family registers as Jews. The single table becomes many tables, and the single family becomes a large crowd. Close-up images of names being typed into lists provide a sense of the vast number of Jews arriving in Kraków.
Oskar Schindler appears in his Krakow hotel room. His face is not shown but the focus of …show more content…
“Schindler's List" brings a pre-eminent pop mastermind together with a story that demands the deepest reserves of courage and passion. Rising brilliantly to the challenge of this material and displaying an electrifying creative intelligence, Mr. Spielberg has made sure that neither he nor the Holocaust will ever be thought of in the same way again.” (December 15, 1993 NY Times)
Carmel Gallagher from BBC states in her review for the film:
“The clever use of light and shade also makes it visually stunning. When Oskar Schindler visits a nightclub, he looks like a 1930s movie star as his cigarette smoke spirals above his head, his eyes hidden in the shade. It is the story of German businessman Oskar Schindler which captivates right to the end. He is transformed from physically imposing, charismatic philanderer to the humbled man, wishing he had saved more lives. We watch nervously as he tries to save over a thousand Jews from almost certain death in concentration camps by getting them to work in his factory. He bribes officials and befriends Nazis including evil camp commandant, Goeth, played brilliantly by Ralph Fiennes. (Jan. 25, 2001