As Polish Jews are herded into the Krakow ghetto at the onset
of World War II, a German entrepreneur and member of the Nazi Party (Liam
Neeson) begins employing them as a source of cheap labor with the assistance of
a Semitic accountant (Ben Kingsley). Increasingly, as his conscience is
stimulated, he views his factory as a refuge from concentration camps and
certain death and begins employing as many workers as possible while outwitting
party officials, including a sadistic, mentally unstable commandant (Ralph
Fiennes) whom he must keep in his corner. Stephen Spielberg’s Schindler’s List is a triumph on every
level, from its brilliant, graphic, empathetic script by Steven Zaillian (from
Thomas Keneally), superlative, impeccably lit cinematography from Janusz
Kaminski, and the performances from Neeson (one he’s never truly been able to
live up to), Kingsley, and an absolutely frightening Fiennes.
**** out of ****
