One Life – Film Review By Brian Merriman

Directed by James Hawes
Written by Lucinda Coxon · Nick Drake
Music by Volker Bertelmann
Starring: Helena Bonham Carter, Anthony Hopkins, Jonathan Pryce

Every screenwriter’s wish must be to find a true story that gives you a rich panoply of characters and circumstances, that challenges you to communicate that truth in a screenplay, with the onerous responsibility of doing justice to the remarkable facts. ‘One Life’ is exactly that story and this is exactly the right time for such a tale of bravery and selflessness to be told as the comfortable world polarises and dehumanises others for political gain.

One hundred years ago, 1923, was seen as the breakthrough year for Hitler’s rise to power. His politics of division, blame and hate took hold in a chaotic country wrecked by war and starved of a new ideal. That ‘ideal’ was to cost millions of lives and change the course of history, with the rise of Nazism, the Holocaust, the annexation of countries and World War II.

Writers Lucinda Coxon and Nick Drake rise to the challenge of the story of Nicholas Winton admirably, being fortunate to have it conveyed to us on screen, by a stellar cast.

I recall seeing the episode of the Esther Rantzen TV show ‘That’s Life’ where the real Winton was surprised by the studio audience. It was a memorable and stand-out moment in the 1980s.

When the Nazis began to spread throughout Europe, with the early collaboration of other countries, who thought giving them a little would appease them,  Sudetanland, part of Czechoslovakia was sacrificed. Tens of thousands fled to Prague and a young British man Nicholas Winton, grandson of Jews, set out to see what he could do. Moved by the desperate plight of thousands of children, he and his Mother (a pragmatic Helena Bonham Carter) pushed against the system in the UK to get Visas, funding and transport to evacuate these children from the Prague ghettos to safety.

They were set an enormous task by an indifferent Officialdom, but as we are told, all that was needed was some ‘ordinary people’ to prevail. It is a powerful story of values, commitment and determination. The generosity of the people in the UK is palpable throughout this moving drama.

We meet Winton (a forensic Anthony Hopkins) in later life. Tormented by the memories of those he could not save, he is faced with clearing out the past. How can he clear out the horror of what he witnessed fifty years ago? We flashback to 1938 and a young Winton, a beautiful study by Johnny Flynn, volunteers for the British Red Cross in Prague and with a few friends, they begin to plan to rescue the children.

With fine supporting performances by Romola Gary, Alex Sharp and many more, we feel the rising tension in the changing Prague and the urgency to save lives. Back in London, they work round the clock and remarkably motivate people to fund and foster these Jewish children, as the Nazi clock ticks towards occupation and annihilation.

The outcome may have been lost to history only for Winton’s determination to find a proper home for his records. Hopkins has an ability to make a scene out of making a cup of tea with no dialogue. You hear him thinking and planning and it is a contemplative performance that not only honours his subject, but confirms to us all, the legend of the screen that he is, as an actor.

With history repeating itself in modern times, this timely film is a reminder of the power that ‘ordinary people’ have in the face of constructed political toxicity and division. We see clearly the cost everyone pays when extremes take control. No one wins.

The unfolding of the plot which nudges Winton from 50 years of regret for all he couldn’t save, to him appreciating the wonder of the lives he saved and the lives they created, is a joyous outcome from such a dreadful time. He is an unlikely hero and with the unlikely assistance of press magnate’s wife, Betty Maxwell (warmly played by Marthe Keller) we see there is good in everyone!

‘One Life’ is a fine film with a powerful message that must be seen by all. As a film, it is a well-constructed and beautifully played drama that informs, educates and recreates with an authenticity worthy of the real heroes of that time – the ordinary people who can hold on to values despite being swamped by the propaganda and power of hate.  All we need now is for more ‘ordinary people’ to see it – lots more, so history will not repeat itself a hundred years on.