One Life (2024) * * * 1/2

 

Directed by:  James Hawes

Starring:  Anthony Hopkins, Johnny Flynn, Helena Bonham Carter, Jonathan Pryce, Lena Olin, Romola Garai

Nicholas Winton saved the lives of 669 mostly Jewish children in late 1930's Czechoslovakia by having them transported by train from Prague and having them adopted by foster families in England.  If it were up to him, no one outside of his immediate family would have ever known about it, but such good deeds could not stay hidden.   Why did Winton want to keep his actions a secret?  Partly due to a sense of humility, but also because after eight successful transports of children to safety, a ninth one was stopped on the day Germany invaded Poland and the fate of the children aboard was never made known.  This ninth train's fate haunted Winton for the rest of his days.  Like Oskar Schindler, Winton wished he could do more even though he had already done so much to save lives.   

Winton's story is told in 1938 with Johnny Flynn as Winton, a British stockbroker who volunteered to aid refugees in Prague, with Czechoslovakia under threat of Nazi invasion at any moment.  Winton observed that the children would surely perish in concentration camps unless they are shipped out of Prague to safety in the UK, with foster families waiting to adopt them.   Winton, with help of his team in Prague, his mother (Bonham Carter) and other friends in the UK, created the visas, passports, and transportation schedules which would take the children to freedom.   The start of World War II brought about the end of Winton's plans, but not before he saved so many lives. 

The story oscillates to 1988 England, where the now-retired Winton, still active in local charities, prepares his house for the arrival of his first grandchild.  He disposes and burns boxes full of documents pertaining to his exploits fifty years earlier, bringing about the memories both good and bad, leading to the flashbacks to Prague.   How Winton was able to pull off saving any children was miraculous and a study in grit, determination, and positivity.  If it was possible, Winton tried to pull it off.  In most instances, he succeeded.   However, Winton continually felt guilty about the ninth train in which its passengers were likely rerouted to camps.  

Like Schindler's List, One Life shows us how one man's work saved the lives of generations of people.  The Flynn and Hopkins' performances detail a quiet man of strength and conscience who got the impossible done.   Winton surely didn't have Schindler's bravado, but that was part of Schindler's plan to fool the Nazis.  Schindler was a master of sleight-of-hand.  Winton was a magician without the stage act.   What Winton received that Schindler may not have in later life was validation that his work yielded something extraordinary.   One Life understands that, documents it, and relishes in the payoff of having an audience full of people surround Winton during a British television show stand up to acknowledge his efforts.   If that didn't convince Winton that his actions were worthwhile, than nothing would.