Steven Spielberg
Schindler's List

It's never easy to praise a film like this without falling into the banal or the rhetorical (as Teo would say, Sugary, he would say).

It is now clear that Spielberg works well on a film when the story he decides to tell is close to him, as was understood with "Schindler's List" precisely and will be confirmed with "Saving Private Ryan." You can say anything about Spielberg; you can say he's a great rogue who likes to ham it up (this one I borrowed from the good Pizzul) with feel-good kiddie stories (but not always, see "Duel," "Jaws," "Amistad," "Munich," etc...) that are fake and pointless. But if there is one thing I am sure of (and I imagine many of you are as well), it is that Spielberg is a skilled craftsman and, in some cases, a great director.

One of these cases is, precisely, "Schindler's List." The story of the Holocaust told through the eyes of Oscar Schindler, a womanizer with a nose for business, who, as he says at the beginning, "arrived here with two empty suitcases and went home with equally full suitcases of money." What he doesn't know is that he will return with less money than before but the awareness of having saved a thousand people.

The story, painted through an excellent (and not clever) black and white, allows us to come into contact with other key characters, like accountant Stern and camp commander Amon Goeth (the entrance of the latter is anthology-worthy, as after being informed of the substantial details of the camp and the question "Do you have any questions, UntesthurmFhurer?" he responds with a "Ya, why is the top down? I'm freezing..."). The state of grace of the entire Cast is astounding, particularly the leading trio: Neeson, Kinley, and Fiennes.

There are so many things to say about this film, but I'll limit myself to emphasizing the elegance with which it was shot (with shots clearly inspired by period photos), the little girl's red coat, and the usual perfect John Williams.

It is probably Spielberg at the peak of his abilities (or almost) in "Schindler's List," a film, in my opinion, unassailable (except for a couple of easily avoidable scenes, like the "jammed gun," frankly too forced). The rest, the story of marketing at all costs, the much-vaunted feel-good sentiment that oozes in every scene (but where?), and the "clever" black and white are, frankly, criticisms that are pointless.

Fun fact, at the end of the film, when we see the real Schindler Jews paying tribute to him, at the end of the sequence, you can notice a man placing a rose on the grave. The man is Spielberg himself.

The Scene? That of Amon "that's not a villa, it's a house" Goeth who, after waking up and stretching properly, smokes a cigarette on the balcony while between puffs he takes "target practice on a Jew" with a sniper rifle.

"You understand that for us it doesn't make any difference, right? This..that, we don't care about anything, they're just the inconveniences of the list...a paperwork job!"