DENMARC JOSE L.

FERNANDEZ
XII – ST. PADRE PIO

SCHINDLER’S LIST (1993): A MOVIE ANALYSIS

Introduction:
Schindler's List is a 1993 American epic historical period drama film directed and co-
produced by Steven Spielberg and written by Steven Zaillian. It is based on the novel Schindler's
Ark by Australian novelist Thomas Keneally. Starring Liam Neeson as Oscar Schindler, Ben
Kingsley as Itzhak Stern, Ralph Fiennes as Amon Goeth, Caroline Goodall as Emilie Schindler,
Jonathan Sagall as Poldek Pfefferberg, Embeth Davidtz as Helen Hirsch.
Plot Summary:
Businessman Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson) arrives in Krakow in 1939, ready to make
his fortune from World War II, which has just started. After joining the Nazi party primarily for
political expediency, he staffs his factory with Jewish workers for similarly pragmatic reasons.
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.
Analysis:
The human rights have been violated countless times, throughout the film, I observed that
it is set on world war II, in which the time of Nazi regime, killing millions of Jews, not because
they did something wrong, but simply because of the fact that they are Jew. Regardless of their
gender, their age, their educational attainment, as long as they are essential and can be use, they
will survive but eventually they are just mere tools or workforce they are always destined to be
killed any time. By these scenarios, it speaks volume, the value of their life is like a worthless
livestock, there morality, their rights as a human were stripped away from them, as if they need to
be worthy to be alive, they need to be useful, and if not they get killed, even children can get killed,
women Jew are not allowed to be kiss or be intimate with a German. This film also great at
portraying “Money makes the world go ‘round.”, just like what Oscar Schindler did, bribing,
corrupting, using other people in which can violate themselves, thus human rights is always have
been neglected.
The main reason why Oskar Schindler’s ethnocentric view has been altered is because he
did not notice that he is already stepping on someone else’s shoe, he is always observing the
behavior, attitude and the experiences of many Jews from a far not realizing that he is already
empathetic towards the Jews, at first he only meant for them as a tool for his money-making
business but he did not realize the impact that he made towards those people that he ‘used’. At the
end of the war he realizes something that change his perspective, it is not the money that makes
people’s satisfaction but the gratitude that people will give to you. He regretted the way he lived
his life, spending it on almost useless thing that can cost one to two or million lives, however he
is grateful that he fulfilled the right thing to do.
The way the film was portrayed was astonishing, it is set on a war but didn’t get the essence
of war, however it is not the point of the story, because it was all about choosing between human
morality and the law, in which not only caused frustration from the protagonist but also to the
viewers, to be killed or not to get killed, money plays a key role in this film, money can be used in
a bad way or in a good way, it is always based on the beholder that makes the difference. This film
gives us a lesson that all the little things that you do unto others can mean greater things to them,
bad purpose with a good outcome, sometimes we only think of ourselves so busy looking in front
of the mirror, all the benefits that we get, but if we look outside the box everyone benefited.