One Life (2023)

“One Life” (2023) is a biographical drama film directed by James Hawes. The movie is based on the true story of British humanitarian Nicholas Winton. It skillfully alternates between two timelines:

1. 79-year-old Nicholas Winton (played by Anthony Hopkins) reminisces about his past. His reflections take us back to the late 1930s, just before the outbreak of World War II.

2. 29-year-old Nicholas Winton (portrayed by Johnny Flynn) is on a mission in German-occupied Czechoslovakia. His goal: to help groups of Jewish children find safety and escape the impending Nazi threat.

The film unfolds as follows:

• In 1938, Nicholas Winton visits Czechoslovakia, where he encounters families who have fled the Nazis in Germany and Austria. These families are living in dire conditions, with little shelter or food, and fearing the Nazi invasion.

• Winton collaborates with Doreen Warriner (played by Lena Olin), head of the Prague office of the British Committee for Refugees from Czechoslovakia (BCRC). Horrified by the refugee camps’ conditions, Winton decides to take matters into his own hands.

• Supported by his mother, Babette (a German-Jewish migrant who converted to the Church of England), Winton overcomes bureaucratic hurdles, collects donations, and seeks foster families in England for the endangered children.

• Many of these children are Jews facing imminent deportation. A race against time ensues, as the borders may close with the impending Nazi invasion.

• Fifty years later, in 1988, the now 79-year-old Winton sifts through old documents in his cluttered office. These documents chronicle his work for the BCRC, complete with photos and lists of the children he helped save.

This poignant and inspiring film sheds light on the courage, compassion, and resilience of those who risked everything to save lives during a tumultuous period in history.