Hitler’s mission was to eradicate the Jewish people from not only Germany but around the world. He considered the Jews to be an inferior race, who set out to weaken other races and take over the world. During his genocide of European Jews during World War II his supporters and him took almost six million Jewish lives. Wiping out two-thirds of Europe’s Jewish population. Out of these six million, 1.5 million were children. The murders were carried out primarily through mass shootings and poison gas in extermination camps.
However, there was one man instrumental in ruining Hitler’s plans by saving 669 children from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia in 1938, transporting them via train from Prague to Britain: Sir Nicolas Winton. Those 669 children have turned into 6,000 today after being given the chance to live and grow families of their own. His name was Sir Nicolas Winton, knighted by Queen Elizabeth II, and he lived to be 106. His story, if left untold, would have died with him. Besides the phenomenal cast starring Anthony Hopkins, along with the incredible Lena Olin, Johnny Flynn, Helena Bonham Carter, and Tim Seed, and Director James Hawes, the triumph of One Life is keeping Sir Nicolas Winton’s story alive for generations to come. One Life (PG) is set to debut March 15th in theaters and is perhaps the most powerful family movie of the year.
There are four sides to the Holocaust, those that played along with Hitler out of fear and brainwash, those that buried their heads in the sand ignoring the surrounding tragedies, those that were victims of his insanity, and those that did not look away, but acted. Sir Nicolas “Nicky” Winton was a member of the latter group and should be considered a hero. He was a stockbroker, played by Johnny Flynn, from London who led a comfortable life. On the surface, he was the last person you would think would risk his life, plan, and orchestrate the rescuing of almost 1,000 child refugees from Prague. On the inside, he was a reflection of his parents’ upbringing and intrinsic faith. Born to German-Jewish parents who had emigrated to Britain at the beginning of the 20th century; he considered himself “agnostic and a socialist”, both of which he was far from. Staring evil in the face he was a living example of natural conviction and sovereignty. His mother, played by Helena Bonham Carter, continued to serve as an instrumental component to the rescue mission.
The movie portrays the hurdles and obstructions his team and him lived through trying to race time before the Nazis took an “administrative position”, as they called it, and invaded starting World War II. These families of refugees fled the rise of the Nazis in Germany and Austria, living in desperate conditions with little or no shelter and food, and under threat of Nazi invasion. And “Nicky” appreciated that if he could do something at all he had to, so he did.
Fifty years later he finds himself continuously haunted by the recollection of the 250 plus children he couldn’t save and wondering if the 669 he did lead fulfilled lives. One Life exposes “Nicky’s” enormous difficulty in revisiting the memories and was tormented about the thought of what had become of the children that were taken. The grief of the memories he had been carried for fifty years was so strong he seemed to hurt physically. Anthony Hopkins conveyed this anguish and pain in such a way that you stopped breathing with him during his flashbacks. With the push from his wife, played by, Lena Olin, to “let go”, his healing only arrived after his story was shared through a live BBC television program in 1987 called “That’s Life”.
His heart was calmed after he was reunited with the refugee children he liberated. Even more, through the words of a refugee reiterating that not only did he save 669 and give hope for a moment to the 250 lost, but he saved the souls of the parents who were tormented with the idea that their children would be taken and die. One of the refugee children reminded him that, “for a mother, knowing your children are safe is everything.”
One Life reminds us all that it only takes “one life to save the world”.
Brittany Stewart, an accomplished writer and educator, draws inspiration from her 23-year marriage and upbringing near Lake Tahoe in Verdi, Nevada, now residing in Tucson, Arizona. With her Bachelor’s degree in Education, emphasizing Native American Literature and Journalism, Brittany is a multifaceted professional who is also a Licensed Massage Therapist. She is deeply involved in Tucson’s homeschooling community, leading a homeschool group, teaching dance, and offering art classes. She and her family have a homestead in Southern Arizona, where her husband hunts and she tends to the garden, emphasizing the importance of God and family in her life while continually seeking adventure through her travels.