Schindler's List Scene Analysis

In Steven Spielberg's Schindler's List one of the final scenes stood out more than the others; the scene in which Oskar Schindler completely breaks down in tears thinking of all the Jews that he could have saved. Throughout this whole film Schindler was only concerned with making profit and pleasing his own needs, however in this final scenes his desire for money was not selfish but selfless. I was shocked at Schindler's overwhelming change, he was actually shaking and sobbing on the ground in front of a crowd repeating how he could have saved more. During this scene when Schindler received a ring from some of those Jews that he rescued he begins yet again to think of profit. This ring symbolizes his connection that the Jews he saved had with him, he was no longer their owner or a danger, he was their friend and savior. However this connection is quickly overcome by his desire to almost pawn of the ring so that he would have money to go and save more Jews; he keeps going back to how he could have saved more. Schindler's vulnerability and inability to help anymore Jews is shown through the higher camera angle looking down on him as he sobs making this a truly unforgettable an absolutely moving moment in this whole film. Now even though this is the scene that depicts his change the most, there are other subtle hints throughout the film that show his hidden compassion on the Jews that he is holding on his concentration camp. The one that stands out most, probably because it is the only color in a black and white film aside from a candle, is the little girl in a red coat that is seen running through the streets. When Spielberg shows Schindler and his mistress looking down from the hill on their horses to that little lost and probably very frightened girl, the camera zooms in on his face to which shows his intense attraction to the girl and there is even slight distress; Schindler starts to doubt his money driven actions. Although this scene does prove to be a very important scene in the film because it shows hints of Schindler's change of heart, it differs from certain concrete evidence in Schindler's readings such as Oskar Schindler and his mistress were probably never watching from Lasota Hill (Oskar). These readings also share that there were certain circumstances that prove to have made it impossible for Oskar Schindler to have rescued anymore Jews; he had already been such a huge help in his attempt to right his wrong and stop the mass murders (Oskar). All in all Schindler's List was a wonderfully crafted film done by Spielberg and even though it is impossible to capture all the devastation and pain of this time, Spielberg does sufficiently show a glimpse of this pain with that final scene being a well made depiction of Schindler's personal conflict with himself and the mass murders in front of him.