‘One Life’ Review: James Hawes’ Holocaust Savior Story is Heroism Simply Told and That’s the Point | Toronto

There is no shortage of stories to be told about the Holocaust. Every person who was alive in Europe at that time has a story to tell, one of everyday systems crumbling, of rare heroism, of unspeakable evil. But at this point, is there any way to make films of these stories that don’t feel cliché? After so many films about people attempting to escape the Third Reich, all of these stories start to blend together – we know what beats to expect, what signifiers to look out for, what every little gesture or look means for the larger story. Can these stories surprise us? Is there anything new to learn from them? Is there a way to film them so that they feel fresh? On the evidence of James Hawes’s One Life, the latest entry into the canon of Holocaust films, the answer to all these questions might very well be no, but the real question is: Does it matter?

One Life tells the little-known story of one Nicholas Winton, a British stockbroker who was so horrified by the conditions he witnessed on a trip to Czechoslovakia in 1938 that he took it upon himself to get as many children out of the country as possible. With the help of his mother (Helena Bonham Carter), herself an indomitable German emigré who made England her home, donations from concerned British citizens, and a group of aid workers on the ground in Prague, not to mention the cooperation of the British government, they were able to evacuate hundreds of children to foster homes in England in the hope of reuniting them with their families in their home country once the region became more stabilized. Because of the largely bureaucratic nature of the operation, there isn’t much suspense in this story outside of the countdown to the inevitable appearance of the German army in Prague. There is no intrigue, no spy games, no real danger to any of the characters – aside from the danger the children are already in by being Jews in Eastern Europe. The real meat of the film actually takes place decades later in the 1980s, when the older Nicholas (Anthony Hopkins) is cleaning out his house and trying to find a proper home for his scrapbooks from the operation. No one knows his name or what he did, and he prefers to downplay his involvement and the success of the operation. But then the mostly silly British television program That’s Life gets wind of his story, and Nicholas is forced to reckon with the full scale of his actions.

The story of the young Nicholas (Johnny Flynn) attempting to get the British government to pay attention to the problem on the European mainland is frustrating to watch for all the right reasons, as Nicholas and his mother have to go through incredible hoops in order to get the government to consider their plan and then put it into action by fast-tracking travel visas for the children. But in the grand scheme of things, it feels easy, with an almost complete lack of drama after the first scene in which Winton’s mother gives the government workers a delicious dressing down (Bonham Carter may struggle with the German accent, but her sense of comic timing is still strong). One of the themes of the film is how appealing to people’s better natures will reveal their true capacity for good, and that’s all Winton and his mother do outside of the logistical work of getting the children to England and placing them in homes, which the film also largely glosses over. This makes the film itself a bit too easy to watch for such a topic, but at least the lack of drama doesn’t translate to a lack of storytelling momentum. Hawes keeps things moving at a good clip, helped along by Volker Bertelmann’s score and the efficient screenplay by Lucinda Coxon and Nick Drake. 

Everything has the look and feel of a prestige BBC production, including its light, open-hearted tone. Winton personifies the stiff-upper-lip British ethos of keeping calm and carrying on, and the film’s stylistic approach is a reflection of its main character. Even when it gets to the tear-jerking climax (which is not a one but a two-punch finale), Hawes keeps the film admirably restrained, always staying on the right side of the divide between too much and just enough. Hopkins does the same, turning in a performance that isn’t exactly minimalist, but wrings as much as it can out of the smallest gestures and gradations of emotion. The climax is as effective as it is in large part because of his refusal to go for the big moment. Winton spends the whole film playing down his efforts and success, whether out of humility or disappointment with himself that he was unable to do more. When the reveal finally comes, easy as it is to see coming, the waves of emotion that overcome his body are seamlessly transferred to the audience, a prime example of the magic of cinema.

So here we come again to the matter at hand: Does it matter if these stories have no new, unique, or interesting cinematic point of view? Does it matter if we’ve seen too many of these stories to be even mildly surprised by any new ones? No. Not when the film works so well on its own terms. Not when it serves as such a potent reminder of the importance of altruism and the value of human kindness during a time when these vital qualities are in such short supply. The elder Winton was partly inspired to put his story out there by the ‘80s refugee crisis, and the film doesn’t overplay its hand in making the parallels between Winton’s story and the humanitarian crises of today. The parallels are there to be made, though, and Hawes makes his point with a minimum of fuss. There’s nothing even remotely original here, no interesting stylistic flourishes or playing around with the cinematic form. One Life is a relatively simple story, told simply. Instead of that leading to something that is simply dull, however, it leads to something simply touching, one that will leave your face just as tear-stained as Winton’s own when he finally allowed himself to acknowledge how much good he had done. Now it’s up to us to make sure we strive to do such good in our own lives.

Grade: B+

This review is from the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival. One Life is currently without U.S. distribution.