Schindler's List is one of those movies that elicits such a strong reaction not only the first time one sees it, but every subsequent time that people often respond without fully being able to think through what they are saying. Personally, it is one of my favorites, as I have emerged from each viewing of it exhausted, torn, and enlightened from an experience explores many sides of humanity during one of the most terrifying times in recent history. Some, however, have responded very negatively to what they term historical inaccuracies, lack of focus on the real issues, or for others, overblown sentimentality. Not being Spielberg, I have no idea what his intentions were, but I would argue that no single movie can ever truly capture the experience of an entire continent during a six year period or war, much less a 13 year period of Nazi rule in Germany. Regardless of how incredible Schindler's List is, it should only be the first of many Holocaust movies to be made. Thus, I agree with people who argue that there was more to the Holocaust than this film, but to not recognize the greatness of this film for that reason is simply ridiculous. This movie explores human nature, therein lies its true greatness. It asks each and every one of us to search the depths of our character, and ask ourselves what we would do in a situation where our moral, spiritual, and physical beings were threatened from every direction. Do we really expect film to be reality? I don't. I go to movies to make me think, to make me look inward and learn something about myself, to tell explore a part of reality that I had not ever seen before. Schindler's List does exactly this better than almost any other film through nearly flawless acting, beautiful cinematography, and a fantastic story, historically accurate or not. I don't want to relive the Holocaust, I consider myself quite fortunate that I have never had, and hopefully never will have, to make the decisions facing either Stern, Goethe, or Schindler. Instead, the Holocaust should be taught and learned about to discover more about humanity, hopefully to reach an understanding of ourselves that we can use in the future. That's what this film does; it's a work of art.
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