One Life

For any great movie to engage with its audience, symbolism must work to add a depth of meaning that offers a different level of complexity.

‘One Life’, starring the iconic Anthony Hopkins & Helena Bonheim-Carter, is a poignant exploration of the threads that connect us across time and the film masterfully employs its symbols to compliment the narrative. By artfully leveraging distinct pieces or emblems that portray the history, we witness what seems to be a rather insignificant blue button, dropped into a coin machine by Nicolas Winton, but how it becomes the priceless metaphor used to communicate the messages we all in life get to weave as a thread over time. The beauty of the blue button lies not just in its physical appearance, but in the profound message it conveys when taken from Anthony Hopkins pocket and held in the hand he uses to select coins for the telephone. It resonates the drawing of parallels between the threads that connect a button and the threads that bind us as individuals, for what can keep us together, communicate to us or hold parts of us in place. What we have ability to weave and sew into the life of another to help them grow. It is in this choice that we get to see the fabric of Nicolas Winton, how the expose of his life elevates the intrigue of the film, transforming it into more than just a visual experience. One life teaches us that when we engage with another to assist only in providing a platform that can transport them out and away from poverty, starvation & pain, that chance given to one has potential to extend through and also reach the many. We are touched by the tenacity of Nicholas Winton & his mother - Babi (played by Helena Bonheim-Carter) and how together their dogged determination to arrange visas and homes for the Jewish children escaping the Nazi's death trap reveals a persistence that saves many a life. The added layer of family brings a magnitude that reveals the protection & support, how it is used to enrich the narrative and bring a heightened meaning that connects the characters to a broader human experience.

Nicolas Winton bridges the divide that our governments of today often place on refugees, the gaps in immigration laws and finding commonality of ancestry through ethnicity. He seeks no desire of political power but rather moves us to understand the humanitarian support that should easily be provided for those requiring aid and assistance. Nicolas simply saw humans in desperate need of help for which he was drawn to act.

Anthony Hopkins portrayal of Nicholas Winton - the stockbroker, is preeminent when he sits among the children he has saved on the BBC’s ‘That’s Life’ show. It acts as a powerful moment that his decision to participate is not driven from a desire to stand out; but rather, it stems from his modesty and a genuine wish to be involved. He exemplifies the films’ central theme of making a difference in others’ lives, not for recognition, but out of a sincere desire & pursuit to contribute positively to their world. There are so many instances in this movie that create the rich threads of meaning that run through the narrative, connecting past to present, personal and historical accounts and ultimately highlighting the beauty of humanity against a backdrop of our worst atrocities. “One Life” invites its audience to identify & unravel the layers of symbolism, making it a thought provoking and emotionally resonant cinematic experience. Anthony Hopkins warmth & humility is magnified on the screen, his only concern is to know that the children he saved had gone on to lead good lives. He is driven and determined in his selfless act to assist others in their plight and gets the balance right to avoid an influence that takes away independence and or a right of self-control. “When you see, you can’t unsee and do something you must”. This is what drives him and is supported by the Hebrew quote his friend says: “don’t start what you can’t finish”.

We clearly see the picture of what takes place without the need of graphic representation by how the children are all named by a number. Sometimes, when there has been too much tragedy and unnecessary suffering of human life, it needs a clever and talented actor, screen director to recognize ‘emotion restrained’, from what was obviously needed to be contained and how when done well can still produce the desired result, a flood of tears. We read the guilt on Hopkins face, of what he carried with him packed away in a briefcase for years, his inability to come to terms with the obvious loss of his passengers on the Kindertransport that would be his ninth and last train. For it was this train, his ninth, that carried the largest group - 250 children - the same day of its departure towards what should have been freedom, a chance to start over again, that saw Hitler invade Poland, on September 1, 1939, this was also the day that Germany closed its borders. This date so cruelly embedded in Nicholas Wintons memory, was the demarcation of a one way ticket that would have seen the fate be only the concentration camps. Their fate was something that never escaped him;

A train that did not reach its destination and left him always worrying that he had not done enough. Not even the 669 children he did save could erase the memory of the lives lost from the ninth train. The x drawn on the scrapbook found buried within his briefcase by his wife, was the only reminder that clearly marked their spot.

This film showed an ordinary man going to extraordinary lengths in his humanitarian quest, simply from a deep understanding of good moral judgement and knowing what was right from wrong.

The success of this film has no need to rely on its storytelling but instead is rather scintillating in its natural beauty, the ability to resonate on a profound and human level of great compassion, decency & the good grace of mankind.