TORONTO – The accomplishments of Nicholas Winton were lost to history for almost forty years. The last time the Brit had spoken about his work rescuing Jewish refugees in Czechoslovakia was when he ran for local council in 1954. But for decades, nothing. He steadily worked for finance companies and raised a family. He was not one to herald his accomplishments in the town square. That was until 1988 when, at the age of 81, his wife suggested he show a scrapbook of his accomplishments to holocaust researcher Elisabeth Maxwell, who just happened to be the wife of one of the biggest media moguls in England. Those events are just part of the story of James Hawes’ feature directorial debut, “One Life,” which premiered at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival this weekend.
Portrayed by Anthony Hopkins in his later years and by Johnny Flynn as a younger man, Winston was working as a London stockbroker when Nazi Germany illegally annexed the Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia in 1938. This forced thousands of families, many of them Jewish, to flee to Prague looking for shelter. Morally compelled to help in any way he can, Winton travels to the refugee camps outside the city and is horrified at the conditions he witnesses. With winter coming, young children are at risk, and he begins working with a team of volunteers including Doreen Warriner (Romola Garai) and Trevor Chadwick (Alex Sharp) to find foster homes for them in the U.K.
At the time, the British government was in a stalemate on how to deal with the ramifications of Nazi aggression and Winton finds bureaucratic obstacles to his plan at every turn. He has a secret weapon, however, in his mother Babi (Helena Bonham Carter) who just won’t take no for an answer. As Winton and the volunteers organize trains and families for the children to stay with, the Nazi threat grows perilously closer. By the time the trains are booked, Winton has been forced to return to his day job even though his mind (and outside efforts) are elsewhere. Whether all the children will make it to England, however, remains to be seen.
For the most part, “One Life” is chronicling very familiar WW II territory. It’s not difficult to prompt genuine tension from these horrific events, but Hawes’ depiction of them is simply too conservative. Despite a varied television career (“Black Mirror,” “Slow Horses”), it feels as though Hawes cannot elevate the story to something truly memorable, even with another fantastic performance from Hopkins to assist. It’s all too by the numbers and uninspired. But then, as fate would have it, history provides a gift.
We won’t spoil it here, but a request from the BBC for Winton to appear on the program “That’s Life!” is an emotional turning point. From then on, Winton’s contributions found the spotlight they deserved and for the last thirty years, well, he’s gotten his due (that’s actually “Sir” Winton to you). We only wish the rest of “One Life” could live up to that singular moment and Hopkins’ noble contributions. [C+]
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