One Life
A marvelous film that left me repeatedly teary eyed.
This is a heartwarming movie that will capture your attention from beginning to end. It begins in England in the 1970s when Nicholas “Nicky” Winton, played with grace and style by Anthony Hopkins, reflects back on his efforts to save children in Prague from the Nazis in 1938.
Nicky is haunted by the sad reality that he was only able to bring slightly under 700 kids to foster homes in England. Cleaning out his messy office, he finds an old file containing pictures of the children he saved. He never saw them after returning to England.
The movie then jumps back to 1938 where you see Nicky, now played by Johnny Flynn, work with his mother Babi (a wonderful Helena Bonham Carter) to coordinate a rescue effort. Ms. Carter is stunning as she convinces British officials to help.
But watching Nicky in Prague will break your heart. Wait until you see parents touch the hands of their children through a train window as they are about to depart. The parents know that the kids will end up in England with foster parents and they may never see them again.
And while I won’t give away the ending, let me just say that Hopkins’ Nicky is honored on a TV show for his magnificent service decades earlier. Though the studio is packed with apparent fans of the show, wait until you see the moment when the host says, “Are there any adults present who was saved decades ago by Mr. Winton?”
Have a package of Kleenex handy.
