Review by John P. Harvey.
In 1938, Nazi Germany began its invasion of Czechoslovakia by its military occupation of Sudetenland, the northern part of that country. Thousands fled, especially Jews, seeking safety elsewhere in the country. Nicholas Winton (played by Johnny Flynn), a stockbroker in London, was asked by his friend Martin Blake (Jonathan Pryce), to come to Prague to assist in the work of the British Committee for Refugees from Czechoslovakia. While there, Winton saw the desperate plight of many of these people.
Faced with the overwhelming numbers and the diminishing chances that all can escape the inevitable invasion of the entire country by the Nazis, Winton determined to rescue as many of the children as possible. He spearheaded the formation of the Committee’s Children’s Section and invited parents to apply for help in getting their children to safety in Britain.
Organising this exodus presented many challenges in both Czechoslovakia and Britain. Winton, supported by his indomitable mother, Babette (Helena Bonham Carter), faced those arising back in Britain.
One Life opens in 1988 with Winton (played by Anthony Hopkins) still haunted by what happened fifty years earlier. Although he and his small band saved many children, the loss of many more has continued to cause him grief, and he sees important humanitarian lessons in it. As he is now an older man, his wife urges him to make a decision about the contents of a briefcase that has remained with him since 1938. It is what lies within the briefcase that leads to the completely unexpected, which profoundly affects Winton for the remainder of his very long life.
One Life makes riveting viewing, and it’s impossible not to feel profoundly moved by it. Hopkins’s all-consuming acting as the older Winton is perfectly matched in the smallest mannerisms by Flynn as the younger Winton. Convincing acting all round brings to dramatic life an engaging, authentic script, which the filmmakers have fulfilled through immaculate attention to costuming, props, sets, lighting, and faultless cinematography. The film’s pacing is perfect, and the major protagonists’ anxieties and frustrations on behalf of the children are palpable despite wonderfully understated acting.
As James Hawes’s directorial debut feature film for the big screen, One Life’s sensitive rendition honours the remarkable courage, compassion, and constancy of Nicholas Winton and those who stood with him during one of history’s darkest periods.