Review: 'Schindler's List'

One of my neighbors, who is a long time friend and collaborator with Gerald R. Molen, gave me the privilege of introducing me to him tonight. However brief it was, shaking his hand and acknowledging his presence, it was the kind of thing every aspiring filmmaker dreams of. With that said, the reason for this is because Mr. Molen was in downtown Salt Lake for a Q&A after a special screening of Steven Spielberg's 'Schindler's List', of which Mr. Molen co-produced and won the Academy Award for best picture of 1993.

Having seen this film once before some years ago, it had left a profoundly deep impact on me. It was eye opening not only from a technical standpoint, by how extraordinary the filmmaking is, but also how enlightening it was on the smallest of details that occurred in this dark time in history. 

I feel like I should explain what the premise/plot of the film is, but then I think that will only slightly take some experiences of the film away as you watch it. Just know that this film deals with the Jewish Holocaust in a very realistic, yet bittersweet manner. It is very hard to watch at times, but then again it is meant to be that way. People need to know and be aware of what had happened at that time. Before this film's release, the Holocaust had only been a footnote in history and then slightly shoved aside. 'Schindler's List' was able to help people realize how important it was to keep this significant event in history cemented in our memories. 

Due to another event I attended earlier today, I didn't show up for tonight's screening until the film was already more than halfway through. But even with that occurrence, the very moment I stepped into the theatre I had already felt the overwhelming emotion that the present scene had been depicting at that time. The movie is just that powerful. Whether you watch it all the way through from it's very first frame, or only see just a couple of scenes, you feel every ounce of effort and passion there was in making this movie as genuine as humanly possible. 

If you have not seen this film, I would strongly recommend that you find the time to watch it. It will be one of the most moving, powerful movie experiences you will ever have. This film gets the highest rating I can give. Giving it a rating any lower would almost be a crime against human dignity. You will not forget this movie once you've seen it.

My rating: 4/4