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One Life (2023 film)

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One Life
Film poster
Directed byJames Hawes
Screenplay by
Based onIf It's Not Impossible…The Life of Sir Nicholas Winton
by Barbara Winton
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyZac Nicholson
Edited byLucia Zucchetti
Music byVolker Bertelmann
Production
companies
Distributed byWarner Bros. Pictures[1]
Release dates
  • 9 September 2023 (2023-09-09) (TIFF)
  • 1 January 2024 (2024-01-01) (United Kingdom)
Running time
110 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

One Life is a 2023 British biographical drama film directed by James Hawes.[2] It is based on the true story of British humanitarian Sir Nicholas Winton as he looks back on his past efforts to help groups of Jewish children in German-occupied Czechoslovakia to hide and flee in 1938–39, just before the beginning of World War II. The film stars Anthony Hopkins and Johnny Flynn as Sir Nicholas, with Lena Olin, Romola Garai, Alex Sharp, Jonathan Pryce, and Helena Bonham Carter in supporting roles.[3]

One Life had its world première at the Toronto International Film Festival on 9 September 2023, and its European première at the 2023 London Film Festival. It was released in the United Kingdom on 1 January 2024 by Warner Bros. Pictures.[4][5][1] The film received mostly positive reviews, with praise for the performances of the cast, particularly Hopkins'.

Plot

When 29-year-old London stockbroker Nicholas Winton visits Czechoslovakia in 1938, just weeks after the Munich Agreement was agreed, he encounters families in Prague who had fled the rise of the Nazis in Germany and Austria. They are living in poor living conditions, with little or no shelter or food and in fear of the invasion of the Nazis. Winton is introduced to Doreen Warriner, head of the Prague office of the British Committee for Refugees from Czechoslovakia (BCRC). Horrified by the conditions in the refugee camps, Winton decides to save Jewish children himself. Actively supported by his mother Babette, herself a German-Jewish migrant who has since converted to the Church of England, he overcomes bureaucratic hurdles, collects donations and looks for foster families for the children brought to England. Many of them are Jews who are at imminent risk of deportation. A race against time begins as it is unclear how long the borders will remain open before the inevitable Nazi invasion.

Fifty years later, in 1988, Winton, now in his 70s, cleans up some of the clutter in his office, which his wife Grete asked him to do. He finds his old documents in which he recorded his work for the BCRC, with photos and lists of the children they wanted to bring to safety. Winton still blames himself for not being able to save more. At lunch with his old friend Martin, Winton thinks about what he should do with all the documents. He is considering donating them to a Holocaust museum, but at the same time he wants to draw some attention to the current plight of refugees, so he does not do it.

The documents end up in the hands of the That's Life! production team, a TV show produced by the BBC with presenter Esther Rantzen. Winton is invited onto the show and asked to sit in the audience. That's Life surprises Winton by inviting some of the children he helped save onto the show to meet him.[6][7]

Cast

Production

The movie set of One Life at Prague Main Railway Station
The film set of One Life at Prague Main Railway Station

In September 2020 Anthony Hopkins and Johnny Flynn were announced as being attached to a biopic about Sir Nicholas Winton called One Life. From a Lucinda Coxon and Nick Drake screenplay, Aisling Walsh was set to direct with See-Saw Films and BBC Film producing through executive producers Rose Garnett and Simon Gillis, and producers Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, and Joanna Laurie. FilmNation Entertainment and Cross City Films were to be managing international sales.[8] In September 2022 it was revealed that James Hawes was attached to direct his feature film debut while Helena Bonham Carter had joined the cast as Winton's mother, Babi Winton. It was also revealed that Guy Heeley was on board as producer and that the screenplay was based on the book If It's Not Impossible…The Life of Sir Nicholas Winton, written by his daughter Barbara Winton. Also announced as joining the cast were Jonathan Pryce, Romola Garai and Alex Sharp.[9] Filming took place in London in September 2022,[10] with principal photography also taking place in Prague.[11][12]

Winton’s daughter requested that Hopkins should play her father. Hopkins read the script and accepted the part.[13] Winton’s son praised Hopkins' portrayal of his father.[14] One survivor called the film a "fitting tribute".[15] The extras making up the recreation of the show’s audience are the actual children of those Winton had saved.[16]

The film's publicity campaign sparked outrage when the predominantly Jewish heritage of the children on the kindertransport was omitted and they were instead described as 'central European'.[17]

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 90% of 51 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.3/10. The website's consensus reads: "Held aloft by outstanding work from a tremendous cast, One Life pays heartwarming tribute to a remarkable humanitarian effort."[18] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 67 out of 100, based on 17 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[19]

Ian Freer in Time Out described it as a "remarkable World War II story told conventionally but elevated by a superb Anthony Hopkins".[20] In The Guardian, Peter Bradshaw wrote "You’d need a heart of stone not to be touched by this extraordinary true story".[21] In another review for The Guardian, Wendy Ide gave the film three out of five stars.[22]

Robbie Collin of The Daily Telegraph gave the film four out of five stars.[23] The Spectator's Deborah Ross praised the themes, performances and the film's message.[24] Clarisse Loughrey of The Independent offered a more mixed review, though praised Hopkins' performance.[25]

Writing for The Guardian, Matthew Reisz, whose father was one of the children Winton had saved, felt the film betrayed Winton.[26] Nicola Gissing, another descendant of a saved child, wrote an article in response, defending the film.[27]

Controversy over not mentioning the word "Jewish"

After the Israeli film Golda, released in October 2023, flopped in the UK and the failure was linked to a boycott of the film called for by UK-based Palestinian groups following the start of the Israel–Hamas war (only 59 UK cinemas took Golda as a result of the boycott call), BBC Film (One Life's production company) removed the word "Jewish" from its website. Cinema operators in the UK followed suit and simply mentioned in their advertising for One Life that Nicholas Winton had saved “children from Central Europe”. Following protests, BBC Film changed the film's description, writing instead that Winton had saved "predominantly Jewish" children.[28][29]

References

  1. ^ a b Goodfellow, Melanie (11 August 2023). "James Hawes' 'One Life' Starring Anthony Hopkins As "British Schindler" Heads To London Film Festival". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  2. ^ "Anthony Hopkins and Helena Bonham Carter Join World War II Drama 'One Life'". Collider. September 2022.
  3. ^ Lee, Benjamin (10 September 2023). "Review One Life review – Anthony Hopkins moves in stirring second world war drama". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  4. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (2023-07-24). "TIFF Lineup Unveiled Amid Strikes: Awards Contenders 'Dumb Money', 'The Holdovers', 'Rustin'; Starry Pics For Sale With Scarlett Johansson, Kate Winslet, Michael Keaton, Viggo Mortensen & More". Deadline. Retrieved 2023-07-24.
  5. ^ "James Hawes' One Life, starring Sir Anthony Hopkins, announced as American Express Gala film at the 67th BFI London Film Festival". British Film Institute. Retrieved 2023-08-11.
  6. ^ James Hawes’ One Life, starring Anthony Hopkins, announced as American Express Gala film at the 67th BFI London Film Festival. In: bfi.org.uk, 11. August 2023.
  7. ^ Leslie Felperin: 'One Life' Review: Anthony Hopkins Is in Peak Form in a Stirring, if By-the-Numbers, Period Piece. In: The Hollywood Reporter, 11. September 2023.
  8. ^ "Anthony Hopkins & Johnny Flynn To Star In Holocaust Drama 'One Life' About Nicholas Winton, Who Saved 669 Children From The Nazis; See-Saw & FilmNation Launch For Toronto Market". Deadline. 9 September 2020.
  9. ^ "Helena Bonham Carter Joins Anthony Hopkins And Johnny Flynn In Holocaust Rescue Drama 'One Life'; 'Black Mirror' Director James Hawes To Make Feature Debut". Deadline. September 2022.
  10. ^ "Now Filming in London: September 2022". Filmlondon.org.
  11. ^ "Nicholas Winton biopic 'One Life', with Anthony Hopkins, to shoot in Prague this autumn". Praguereporter.com.
  12. ^ "One Life films in Prague and UK with Anthony Hopkins, Johnny Flynn". KFTV.com.
  13. ^ Singh, Anita (December 30, 2023). "Sir Nicholas Winton's family said film could only go ahead if Anthony Hopkins was cast". The Daily Telegraph.
  14. ^ Sir Nicholas Winton: Holocaust saviour's son lauds 'extraordinary' film https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-berkshire-67089259
  15. ^ Sir Nicholas Winton: Woman saved by Holocaust hero praises new film https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-67876587
  16. ^ Alberge, Dalya (December 30, 2023). "'The worst meeting I have ever had': why a Kindertransport hero rejected a film about his life". The Guardian.
  17. ^ Yossman, K. J. (January 4, 2024). "Anthony Hopkins Holocaust Feature 'One Life' Amends Marketing Materials to Include Jews Following Backlash (EXCLUSIVE)".
  18. ^ "One Life". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 4 February 2024. Edit this at Wikidata
  19. ^ "One Life". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  20. ^ Freer, Ian (15 November 2023). "One Life". Time Out. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  21. ^ Bradshaw, Peter (28 December 2023). "One Life review – Anthony Hopkins in extraordinary true story of 'British Schindler'". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  22. ^ Ide, Wendy (January 10, 2024). "One Life review – stirring tale of the 'British Schindler' predictably told". The Guardian.
  23. ^ Harvey, Chris (1 January 2024). "One Life: Anthony Hopkins is stirring as the 'British Schindler' who saved 600 Jewish children". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  24. ^ Ross, Deborah (January 3, 2024). "It'll make you cry despite being very ordinary: One Life reviewed". The Spectator.
  25. ^ "Anthony Hopkins dramatises the That's Life! hero in a poignant biopic – review". The Independent. January 4, 2024.
  26. ^ Reisz, Matthew (January 1, 2024). "Nicholas Winton saved my father from the Nazis – here's how One Life betrays him". The Guardian.
  27. ^ Reisz, Matthew (January 10, 2024). "In defence of One Life, the story of Nicholas Winton". The Guardian.
  28. ^ Simpson, Craig (2024-01-04). "BBC description of Anthony Hopkins film failed to describe kindertransport children as Jewish". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2024-01-24.
  29. ^ Urbach, Karina (2024-01-24). "(S+) Vor Internationalem Holocaustgedenktag: Warum die Rettung jüdischer Kinder im Zweiten Weltkrieg heute zum Streitthema wird". Der Spiegel (in German). ISSN 2195-1349. Retrieved 2024-01-24.
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