Steven Spielberg Created A Phenomenally Impactful Motion Picture With Schindler's List

While watching the documentary Spielberg, which chronicles the filmography of its titular filmmaker, shortly after Schindler's List, I was struck by being reminded of how much of a departure this film was compared to everything else Spielberg had done up to this point. Both in Steven Spielberg's comments on the film and in juxtaposing footage of the feature to footage of past Spielberg movies, Schindler's List feels like a complete 180 from what had come before it. Tight, small-scale conversations had replaced the grand spectacle of his blockbuster efforts, more realistic muted character beats abounded and small touches in the lighting & and writing reinforced that this project, near and dear to the heart of its director, was being executed with a deft & thoughtful touch.

Shoah Is A Devastating Look At Past Atrocities Through Riveting Present-Day Testimonies

Sight & Sound Voyage Entry #28
Placement On Sight & Sound Top 50 Movies List: #29 (tied with Stalker)

I've been pondering how exactly to start this review, since it's difficult to figure out an introduction that would be proper for a review of the 1985 documentary Shoah. Us critics tend to label a lot of movies as "important" to the point of the word losing its original intended meaning, but Shoah truly is a motion picture more than worthy of being dubbed as an important piece of art. Here is an entire movie dedicated to chronicling video interviews with many individuals involved in some way shape or form with the Holocaust, one of the deadliest genocides to ever be committed on this planet that transpired in the early 1940's.

A Strong Jessica Chastain Performance, A Quiet Atmosphere And Some Cute Animals Are All Notable Elements Of The Zookeeper's Wife

The opening scene of The Zookeeper's Wife is so awesome and something I would have been more than happy to watch for six or seven hours or even longer. For a few minutes, we get to just see Jessica Chastain romp around the zoo she runs with her husband and it's so cool to see her interact with or feed a large number of wild animals. Seeing a gigantic hippo tranquilly eat some apples or watching a tiny camel run alongside Chastain's character riding on a bicycle is quite the entertaining sight. Bonus points for having a scene not long afterward centered on a super adorable baby elephant, even if it does involve the baby elephant in grave peril!