Film Paper: Schindlers List

“To refuse life is a sin; it’s stupid and mad. You have to accept life, cherish it, love it, fight for it as if it were a treasure, a woman, a secret happiness.”

-Elie Wiesel, Holocaust survivor/writer

In 1994, Steven Spielberg created a film that represented a metaphorical backdrop for the corruptive madness and folly of war, and its effects which nearly destroyed an entire people’s existence. Schindler’s List presents how one man’s selfish dream of riches and fame, unknowingly saved the lives of thousands of Jews during the period of Nazi rule. This film is the true story, structured around Oskar Schindler, of a man’s will, determination, and transformation during a time of hate and war.

Although there are many beautifully layered and revealing scenes in this movie, I will only highlight a few. The first of which is set between Poldek Pfefferberg and Helen Hirsch, in the basement wine cellar where she sleeps. We can hear the distant sound of a woman singing to the rhythm of the violin, although the sound of water dripping becomes more dominating as Pfefferberg walks down the stairs and we see Helen standing stiff with her clothes and hair soaked. Helens fearful silence and Pfefferberg’s nervous pacing are great indications of their characters; while Helen is just trying to do anything she can stay alive and deal with the chaos around her, Pfefferberg is a weak and troubled alcoholic who is in love with his own hatred. There is a dark shadow cast on both their faces indicating uncertainty and confusion in the scene, a theme which is dominant throughout the film. We can see the camera shooting up at Pfefferberg throughout this scene, indicating his role as the antagonist. Similarly, Helen is shot from her back and over her shoulder, showing her to be the victim, while at the same time we are getting a sense of her subjective point of view. Chiaroscuro lighting effects are used, emphasizing the good and bad sides to their characters. Also it is noticeable that in each shot only one light bulb is seen, adding to the eerie and dark mood of the scene. The scene also cuts in and out of flashes of Schindler at a dinner party, and a wedding ceremony which is being held. This is used to parallel the contrasting roles that the war has made these people play. In the closing of the scene, we hear loud and cheerful music at the dinner party, and a light bulb breaking signifying marriage, while simultaneously Helen gets striked and beaten by Pfefferberg.

This scene is important to the theme of the film because it provides a microcosm for the roles and feelings of Nazi’s and Jews during this period. The conversation being conducted by Pfefferberg is more of his expressing his thoughts about Helen to himself perhaps for the first time; in short it is a battle within himself which he is expressing. His apparent love for Helen is overshadowed by his hate for Jews, a hatred which he begins to questions first after his friendship and admiration for Schindler and now by his deep affection for a Jewish girl. He expresses to both the young girl and himself, “I realize that you are not a person in the strictest sense of the word…but maybe what’s wrong, it’s not us, it’s this [situation]”. However, in the end he cannot bear to come to senses with his own fears and weaknesses, and chooses to carry on as a ruthless coward who beats the woman he is in love with to deal with the hatred he has for himself. This, to me parallels a great theme in this film, which is that of confusion and conflict of feeling for both the Nazi’s and the Jews. As Mr. Elie Wiesel very appropriately put it, “a man hates his enemy because he hates his own hate”.

The next scene I chose to focus on, takes place when the women on Schindler’s list are accidentally shipped to Auschwitz. Having heard rumors and horror stories of women and children being gassed to death there, they are expecting the same fate be theirs. The scene begins with the solo cry of the violin, accompanied by the loud chopping of scissors cutting the women’s hair. The violin gets progressively louder as their naked and malnourished bodies enter the dark room with hollow lights hanging overhead and on the sides. This demonstrates the fear of the unknown that the women are experiencing. They hold one another close as the double doors are closed behind them, and we get a close up of the submarine type window into the room where they are. We are then seeing the victims through the stalking point of the view. There are a lot of overhead shots, which makes us see the victims and feel their sadness and fear as we are made to look down upon them in pity.