One Life - Reviews

Anthony Hopkins is sensational in James Hawes' otherwise fairly conventional biopic of Nicholas Winton, who was responsible for rescuing hundreds of Jewish children from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia.

As in The Father and Armageddon Time, Hopkins here dual-wields outward poise and barely-concealed vulnerability to great effect.

It’s a stirring story, and one it’s impossible to watch without considering Britain’s present-day reluctance when it comes to offering shelter to those most in need of it.

Winton helped to save 669 children in Prague from the horrors of the Holocaust, so Hawes’s film constitutes an attempt at immortalizing an unsung hero.

The film is quite gripping in its attention to the bureaucratic hurdles and mind-boggling logistics that Nicky and soon his mother (Bonham Carter), a German-Jewish refugee herself, must surmount to start moving children to safety.

It’s a story of wartime Europe and postwar memory, and also a noble and inspired moment in the history of British popular TV.

When Winton sees the children he saved, grown up and apparently flourishing, it helps him make sense of his life and tells us everything we need.

A powerful, superbly acted tale of bravery and unsung heroism.

Tajmingen med 2024 års omvärldsläge är ruskigt relevant.

...kul är att han ser ut att trivas bra med svenska Lena Olin som gör ett övertygande jobb i rollen som Wintons beskyddande hustru Grete.

...stabila skådespelare gör att Hawes tv-såparegi med för mycket stråkar, fuktiga barnögon och noll undertext fungerar över förväntan.

...är baserad på en sann historia och Nicholas Wintons vägran att låta hinder stå i vägen för hans ambition att hjälpa barnen är mycket berörande och inspirerande.