One Last Scene - Schindler's List and Closure

Whenever Steven Spielberg movies are discussed, Schindler’s List is frequently underplayed. Whether it’s that it’s depressing, or that it’s not as accessible as his other classics, I think it deserves more praise. I say this recognizing that it already has plenty! And with the “One Last Scene” series on YouTube, I figured I’d discuss its final scene. Because there’s plenty to talk about.

Schindler’s List is my favourite biopic. That said, it’s draining to sit through. I’ve only seen it fully three times, and each was more difficult than the last. There are several moments that are masterfully upsetting, but the finale deserves the analysis here. It’s the first time since the opening that the movie’s in full-colour, and it follows the typical formula where expository text catches us up. But that’s not what I’ll focus on…

The scene begins after Oskar Schindler, now a wanted man, flees from the Americans and Soviets. From here, a group of now-survivors encounter a Russian soldier telling them they’re free. One of them asks him where they should go, to which he replies, “Don’t go east, that’s for sure! They hate you there.” From here, we see the survivors walking with “Jerusalem of Gold” being sung in Hebrew. And this is where, following Amon Göth’s hanging, the movie switches to colour and fast-forwards to the present.

I have to pause to discuss the biggest issue I have with this moment: directly linking the end of The Holocaust with the creation of Israel. Spielberg’s often been criticized for having ham-fisted endings to his movies. Jaws, for example, has Brody blow up the shark after a silly one-liner, while Lincoln ends with an angelic eulogy of the late-president. Sometimes his endings work, like in Jurassic Park and The Fabelmans, while other times…not so much. And then there’s Schindler’s List’s heavy-handed insinuation that Israel only exists because of The Holocaust, something that’s nice in theory, but isn’t true historically.

With the movie now in the present, we see many of the Jews Schindler saved with the actors who’d played them walking up to Schindler’s gravestone in Israel. As each one lays a stone, we’re hear Itzhak Perlman’s violin playing a somber rendition of the main theme. We also get some text that sums up who each survivor is. This entire scene’s quite touching. It reminds the audience of the indeterminable Jewish spirit, and how, amidst everything, the Jew has survived. The world has reviled and tormented Jews throughout history, often with violence, but they’ve failed to eradicate them completely. Having Jews survive The Holocaust is proof of that.

But this scene also highlights a trait of the Jew that isn’t acknowledged enough: compassion. In this context specifically, compassion for the “Righteous Gentile”. Righteous Gentiles were relatively few in relation to the population of Europe, and they risked their lives, often unsuccessfully, to save Jews. Oskar Schindler was one of them, saving over 1100 Jews by recruiting them for his ammunitions factory. He started with selfish intentions, but his heart slowly melted as he saw the horrors surrounding him, and that shouldn’t go unnoticed. This scene drives that point home.

Of course, the one person to lay flowers is Oskar Schindler. More-specifically, the actor who plays him, Liam Neeson. As the camera shows Schindler standing over his grave, a feeling of his ghost finding peace lingers. Schindler’s post-war life was miserable: his marriage fell apart, his businesses kept failing and he died a pauper. He even went unnoticed for his contributions for years, until Yad Vashem acknowledged him as a Righteous Gentile in 1958. This procession was closure, finally allowing his life, and the movie, to end on a positive note.

There’s been plenty of debate since its release as to whether or not Schindler’s List is a “white saviour” movie. The argument is that by focusing on Oskar Schindler’s story, the agency of the Jewish survivors is robbed. I disagree. I think enough attention’s dedicated to Schindler’s Jews throughout the film’s runtime, although it’s not hard to see how it’d come across that way. It’s certainly not The Pianist, that’s for sure!

Still, by making this the primary focus of the conversation, much about Schindler’s List gets ignored. Like how personal it was for Spielberg, often draining him of his energy. Or how its Oscars sweep was unprecedented. Or even how it was a Jewish-centric story that focused on a Jewish perspective, which even now is unusual in Hollywood. This is to say nothing of its palate and cinematographic style being rough and washed out to underscore how brutal this piece of history was!

But above all, the ending scene drives home how powerful the experience is. This isn’t one of Steven Spielberg’s flashier productions. It lacks the fantasy of the Indiana Jones films or the whimsy of Close Encounters of the Third Kind. It isn’t rooted in nostalgia like E.T. The Extra Terrestrial, it isn’t grimly-futuristic like Minority Report is, and it isn’t as menacing as Jurassic Park. Even as a biopic, movies like Lincoln and Bridge of Spies are more accessible. Yet despite that, Schindler’s List is no less wondrous. It’s actually amazing, and that one last scene demonstrates why.