For my 1000th movie on Letterboxd I wanted to watch something special to me. I wanted to watch one of those ‘big’ movies that I had never seen, and I wanted it to feel important. I quickly landed on Schindler’s List for this, as not only had I never seen it, but as a Jewish person, I felt almost an obligation to see it, and I even had felt a little guilty that I hadn’t before. Nonetheless, I decided that Schindler’s List would be my 1000th film. Ironically, it almost wasn’t. I am a big procrastinator, so I put off seeing the movie for a couple days for a variety of excuses. Then it came time for me to watch the second Doctor Strange film, and I realized that that would be my 1000th film instead. To fix this, I found a random series I had watched that was on Letterboxd, and removed my ‘watch’ of it (why this series was on Letterboxd, I don’t know), bringing me down to 998, Doctor Strange could be my 999th, and Schindler’s List could again be my 1000th. And so here we are.

If I’m being fully honest, I truly don’t know what to write for this. I wrote this out on the notes app on my computer so that I was able to come back to it later and review it before posting. As of writing, I plan to give it a 5 star review. That’s because to me, this movie is undeniably phenomenal. The level of craft that went into this leaves me in awe, and it’s far and away Speilberg’s masterpiece. The writing is superb and Steve Zaillian writes something truly masterful. Kamiński’s cinematography is astounding, and the use of the very rare color in the film is uniquely powerful. The performances also, are of course breathtaking: Kingsley and Fiennes are iconic, and Neeson, oh my god, Neeson is truly something to behold. Possibly one of my favorite performances of all time, just amazing. The direction, too, is something beyond words. I do think that Speilberg may have been the only person capable of directing this, and saying that he “knocked it out of the park” would be a gross understatement. 

However, this is not to say that I don’t have problems with the film. The problems I have, I think, rest in the more ethical and moral dilemmas of the idea of the film. My problems rest in the question of “can you ethically and honestly make a film about the Holocaust?” This question is an important one, to me. Film is meant to take us to other worlds, and can be used to make a commentary, provide an escape, or innumerable other things that a movie can do. And yet, despite this, there may be certain things that are exceptions to this, the Holocaust being a common example. Can you, as a filmmaker, make a movie about the Holocaust that either genuinely captures the accuracy and tragedy of the situation, or that provides a commentary on the events and ideas surrounding it? Escape, I think, is out of the question. This is a subject that is incredibly raw, and draws real and powerful emotions form people. And for me to be honest, I think I need to answer this question of whether or not this is possible. The problem is, however, I do not know. I do not have any answer to this question. I was not there for the Holocaust, nor do I have any relatives that were, thankfully. I ask myself if I need to, in order the question, and while I do not think it is necessary, I believe that it helps. A “Holocaust film”, in my opinion, does not, and cannot exist. It is an event in human history, while not uncommon in the policies that led to it, is unique. The stories that come from survivors are ones that cannot be applied to film. So the question of the ethicality of a Holocaust film is irrelevant, as one cannot exist.

To this point, I think that Speilberg may not understand this. He does a number of things in this film that seem to highlight this as well. Speilberg spends a lot of time focusing on the brutality and horror of the situation, and forces the audience to think about it, and to watch it. He stays on raids and executions for a while, more than enough time to make the audience uncomfortable and scared of the situation. The crimes committed in the film by the Nazis are not shyed away from- they’re on full display, and the horrors are burned into the brains of the audience. I think in doing this, Speilberg wanted to draw attention to them, perhaps to raise awareness. To me however, it feels almost superfluous, as if it’s for shock value. I understand that it is meant to build up the despair of the life of a Jewish person in the era, but it misses this in a sense. The biggest offender of this is a scene in which the audience believes a large group of Jews are going to be gassed. The scene builds tension, holding on the terrified faces of those who believe they are about to die. After what feels like an eternity, it turns out that they were just in normal showers, as water comes down from the ceiling. This scene feels almost cheap, meant only to scare the audience and not to serve a greater narrative or thematic purpose. Additionally, in what is somewhat interesting, Schindler’s List may not even be considered by all to be a Holocaust movie, as it chooses to focus on 1,100 people that did not die, as opposed to the 6 million that did. 

Despite these gripes, the film remains outstanding. While I am giving this film a 5 star rating, I really considered not giving it a star rating at all- something I don’t believe I’ve done in my 999 previous ‘watches’. Schindler’s List is truly one of the best films ever made, and despite how much I love this film, and think extraordinarily highly of it’s craft and quality, I don’t believe I’ll be able to watch it again sometime soon, or perhaps ever. This film made me very emotional, to the point where I found myself crying at multiple points- it’s heartbreaking. And I didn’t just cry, I truly and fully wept at this, it completely and utterly destroyed me, and I was devastated for many hours after watching it– it stuck with me that much. If you’ve read this far, thank you, this film means a lot to me now, and I hope it does to you too, or at least that you think about what I’ve said if and when you watch.