Directed by:
James HawesScreenplay:
Lucinda CoxonCinematography:
Zac NicholsonComposer:
Volker BertelmannCast:
Anthony Hopkins, Johnny Flynn, Lena Olin, Helena Bonham Carter, Jonathan Pryce, Romola Garai, Alex Sharp, Marthe Keller, Samuel Finzi, Michael Gould (more)VOD (3)
Plots(1)
One Life tells the true story of Sir Nicholas ‘Nicky’ Winton, a young London broker played by Johnny Flynn, who, along with Trevor Chadwick (played by Alex Sharp) and Doreen Warinner (played by Romola Garai) of the British Committee for Refugees in Czechoslovakia, rescued 669 children from the Nazis in the months leading up to World War II,. Nicky visited Prague in December 1938 and found families who had 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. He immediately realised it was a race against time. How many children could he and the team rescue before the borders closed?
Fifty years later, it’s 1988 and Nicky (played by Anthony Hopkins) lives haunted by the fate of the children he wasn’t able to bring to safety in England; always blaming himself for not doing more. It’s not until a live BBC television show, ‘That’s Life!’, surprises him by introducing him to some surviving children – now adults – that he finally begins to come to terms with the guilt and grief he had carried for five decades.
(Warner Bros. UK)
Reviews (2)
Who doesn't know the story of Nicholas Winton, who, in collaboration with other determined people, managed to save the lives of 669 children? One Life is essentially a simple film in terms of story, with a clear structure that purposefully alternates between two time periods separated by half a century, but it is that story that makes the film an incredibly powerful and moving experience, enhanced by convincing performances and a spot-on cast. Czech viewers will appreciate, among other things, the Prague locations and the many Czech phrases heard in the film. In the end, the film may seem a bit melodramatic, but it barely underlines the modesty of an "ordinary" man who did extraordinary things.
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With films like One Life, it is often difficult to separate the importance of the story from the art of getting it right. Here, however, I don't have much of a problem with that. The film doesn't aim for the easy stuff, it presents things in a complex way, and when it hits the emotional notes with all the force it deserves. Moreover, when Anthony Hopkins' character is confronted with the agonizing truth about the fate of the people he failed to save, he doesn't launch into a heartfelt self-pitying monologue, he doesn't try to cheaply impress the viewer, instead he walks to the window and gazes out at the landscape. Nuance plays a role. Hopkins reaffirms his reputation as one of the finest actors working today, and he's also excellent and captivating, even if he only has half the film at his disposal. And Johnny Flynn ably seconds him. It's just that the Czech actors stick out like a sore thumb at times with their performances. I deliberately put that aside.
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