Entertainment
Anthony Hopkins’ Near-Perfect WWII Drama Is Finally Free To Watch
The war movie genre has boasted some impressive, memorable, and complicated films over the years, going as far back as 1898 with the controversial propaganda picture Tearing Down the Spanish Flag. Genre classics such as Apocalypse Now, Saving Private Ryan, Full Metal Jacket, and All Quiet on the Western Front tend to dominate war movie conversation, and oftentimes, newer installments to the genre rarely add something new and wind up feeling repetitive.
The moving 2023 WWII movie One Life, which has a 91% on Rotten Tomatoes, not only managed to inject an incredible amount of heartfelt emotion into the genre, but did so with minimal action. Through the fantastic performances of Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Pryce, who effortlessly convey their characters’ complicated pasts, the movie provides a relevant message about the power of human decency that feels incredibly necessary in today’s world.
What Is the War Drama ‘One Life’ About?
With how expansive and destructive World War II was, there are likely hundreds of tales of bravery and extraordinary moments that have flown under the radar. One Life‘s narrative is one of those moments that is truly hard to believe. It explores the true story of Anthony Hopkins’ Nicholas Winton who, in his old age, looks back at when he arranged the evacuation of over 600 children from Czechoslovakia during Nazi occupation — almost single-handedly — while trying to find a home for his scrapbook that details his heroism. The way One Life focuses on Winton’s humility — as he has never been truly recognized for his achievements yet never wishes for them — makes Winton an instantly lovable hero, and Hopkins plays it perfectly. His soft demeanor, with a quiet, shuffling body language, conveys a sincerity that reflects his younger self.
The film switches between a young Winton (Johnny Flynn) and him in the present day, just as it does Ziggy Heath and Jonathan Pryce, who play Winton’s friend Martin Blake, the one who initially invites Winton to Prague to assist with humanitarian efforts. Whereas Flynn and Ziggy Heath play their younger versions with more urgency, due to the stakes, Pryce and Hopkins give their characters slower, more thoughtful deliveries, conveying the weight of their past and how they must have thought about this a thousand times.
‘One Life’ Challenges the Audience and Proves How Powerful Human Decency Can Be
Other war films, such as Hacksaw Ridge, explore how much difference one person can make. In the case of that movie, Desmond Doss (Andrew Garfield) is committed from the start to simply save whoever he can, and the high-intensity action almost makes the decision for him on how he must act. Instead, One Life is a snowball effect, as Winton only slowly begins to put the pieces together of how difficult saving these children actually will be, and yet his drive to do the right thing shows how anything can be overcome or made possible. Whether it is the British government being incredibly unhelpful in providing visas for children to use to escape, or the Nazis providing a more sinister and urgent threat, Nicholas Winton is constantly told there is no hope, and he must rely on sheer relentless effort to save lives. In today’s world, where institutions fail people consistently, One Life shows how we should believe in making the world a better place one step at a time with our own actions, whether the systems in place are there to help us or not.
Nicholas Winton almost refuses to take credit for his heroism, insisting that he was only doing the right thing and that anyone would have done the same in his shoes. Even when faced with one of the most hateful, destructive threats the world has ever experienced, Nicholas Winton never backed down. He didn’t want money or fame, and he didn’t necessarily think his efforts would win the war and stop evil for good. He just believed it was simply the right thing to do, and there are very few war movies that truly embody this message as well as this one does. One Life is a war movie you don’t want to miss out on.
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