Antithetical Portrayal of Amon Goeth in Schindler’s List (1993)
I am officially entering the never-ending conversation film critiques and lovers had for more than two decades. Schinder’s List (1993) finally opened up its excursive topic and plot to me, allowed me to go deeper analyzing the characters and their morals through the film. The fascinating story Steven Spielberg brought, inflame the spirits of the viewers, including me, to digging up each of every characters Spielberg drawn and shown to the film.
When we’re talking about Schindler’s List (1993), a World War II film, it’s impossible to not focusing on the main character — Oskar Schindler — who has the same amount of complexities just like any other characters. His role as rescuer and hero to many of Jewish people back then is undeniably important. Spielberg’s capability to write and picture a role precisely contributed on how this film well made.
But this time, I won’t be talking about Oskar Schindler. His character has already been known quite well and making good impressions toward the viewers. Rather than being drawn onto Oskar’s character, I found myself amused by the complexities the other character had. Amon Goeth, an antagonist of this film portrayed by Ralph Fiennes, had enough of interesting features and characters to get me interested.
Who exactly is, Amon Goeth?
To give the big picture, Amon Goeth was the commandant of the Kraków-Płaszów concentration camp and part of the Nazi Party. He is the antagonist of this film, a pure evil with no forgiveness who treated Jews empty-heartedly. He viewed Jewish as same as rats, sub-humans that are best when they are dead.
He played a significant role to command almost all the military to beat up Jews, shoot them, and segregate them. The film picturing him as an absolute beast whose morals are as good as dead. He owns no tolerance and killed Jewish for the littlest mistakes they made.
Dangerous, powerful evil
What makes Amon Goeth’s character interesting is the depiction of his character as a dangerous person. He was pictured as someone with no empathy to everyone he killed and undebatable power to give most of the orders. Not even one person is able to reject or refuse his command, unless that person is quite as powerful as him.
To exemplify how evil this character is, take a look at this dialogue.
Oskar Schindler: Look, all you have to do is tell me what it’s worth to you. What’s a person worth to you?
Amon Goeth: No, no, no, no. What’s one worth to you!
This dialogue alone has enough to show me how Amon Goeth views a person. He did not see someone by their worth, but by amount of worth they can provide. He has materialistic mindset and less empathy, developing his dangerous side to an upper level.
A narcisisstic jerk
In the film, he did not consistently showing himself as a murderous psycho. There was actually one part where he gave forgiveness to Jews that once made him angry. He let his anger slides and make them go without having to deal with shooting and death.
But Amon Goeth is Amon Goeth. He is an unforgiving son of a bitch with power abuse. The idea to pardon all the Jews comes from his conversation with Oskar, getting driven by Oskar’s perspective towards the definition of power itself.
Oskar Schindler: Power — is when we have every justification to kill, and we don’t.
Amon Goeth: You think that’s power?
Oskar Schindler: That’s what the Emperor said. A man stole something, he’s brought in before the Emperor, he throws himself down on the ground. He begs for mercy, he knows he’s going to die. And the Emperor — pardons him. This worthless man, he lets him go.
Amon Goeth: I think you are drunk.
Oskar Schindler: That’s power, Amon. That — is power.
Oskar’s statement affected him to fueled up his image to look more powerful. I feel that before saying those statements, Oskar has enough understanding that Goeth only care about how he will be perceived, not how he perceived others. That is why, he carefully twisted his words and adjusted it to fit in Goeth’s mind perfectly.
Man of Contradictions
Goeth’s relationship with his maid — Helen Hirschs — created his image to look more contradictive and ironic. Helen is one of the characters that made him shows gestures with a little affection. The evilness of his character once getting questioned by what he meant in this dialogue.
Amon Goeth: Yes, you’re right. Sometimes, we’re both lonely. Yes. I mean… I would like so much to… reach out and touch you in your loneliness. What would that be like, I wonder? I mean… What would be wrong with that? I realize that you’re not… a person in the strictest sense of the word, but… No, maybe you’re right about that, too, you know. Maybe what’s… what’s wrong isn’t… it’s not us. It’s… no, it’s this. I mean, when… when they compare you to… to, uh, vermin, to rodents, and to lice. I just, uh… No, you make a good point. You make a very good point.
Amon Goeth: Is this the face of a rat? Are these the eyes of a rat? Hath not a Jew eyes?
Amon Goeth: I feel for you, Helen.
Amon Goeth: No, I don’t think so. You’re a Jewish bitch. You nearly talked me into it… didn’t you?
There was conflict happening in Goeth’s mind on that one scene. His natural male upperclass reaction is to react with proper etiquette, be a gentleman and gracious employer. His indoctrination as a Nazi tells him to destroy her like a rat. His nature as a man says she’s beautiful and they’re both lonely, he should pursue her and make love to her. So many different thoughts in a fundamentally damaged and faulty mind, creating turbulences of moral and principle in his mind.
He is very contradictive towards his acts and rules. His image and principle despises him doing something affectionate, that’s why he changes like a blink of an eye. From a man who’s forgiving, to a man who killed. He also often abuses Helen physically, despite the fact that he ever shows his affection towards her.
That just proves this beast is actually a human, making him more dangerous to look. It is because the fact that this wretched, fucked-up evil can also act and feel like average human does, which connected to us in many ways but prone to hurt us in easier ways.
