British stockbroker Nicholas Winton visits Czechoslovakia in the 1930s and forms plans to assist in the rescue of Jewish children before the onset of World War II, in an operation that came to be known as the Kindertransport.

Credits: TheMovieDb.

Film Cast:

• Nicholas Winton: Anthony Hopkins
• Young Nicholas Winton: Johnny Flynn
• Grete Winton: Lena Olin
• Doreen Warriner: Romola Garai
• Trevor Chadwick: Alex Sharp
• Martin Blake: Jonathan Pryce
• Babi Winton: Helena Bonham Carter
• Hana Hejdukova: Juliana Moska
• Young Martin Blake: Ziggy Heath
• Betty Maxwell: Marthe Keller
• Bernard: Tim Steed
• Nina: Matilda Thorpe
• Esther Rantzen: Samantha Spiro
• Geoff: Adrian Rawlins
• William Hughes: Tom Glenister
• Leadbetter: Michael Gould
• Rabbi Hertz: Samuel Finzi
• Rudi: Jiří Šimek
• Barbara Winton: Ffion Jolly
• Mr. Hart: Simon Thorp
• BBC Researcher: Emily Laing
• Vera Gissing: Henrietta Garden
• Lady Milena Grenfell-Baines: Anna Darvas
• Hanus Snabl: Jonathan Tafler

Film Crew:

• Screenplay: Lucinda Coxon
• Screenplay: Nick Drake
• Director: James Hawes
• Producer: Joanna Laurie
• Producer: Iain Canning
• Producer: Emile Sherman
• Producer: Guy Heeley
• Executive Producer: Simon Gillis
• Co-Producer: Mark Hubbard
• Executive Producer: Maria Logan
• Executive Producer: Norman Merry
• Executive Producer: Anne Sheehan
• Original Music Composer: Volker Bertelmann
• Director of Photography: Zac Nicholson
• Editor: Lucia Zucchetti
• Casting: Nina Gold
• Production Designer: Christina Moore
• Art Direction: Jan Kalous
• Supervising Art Director: Aline Leonello
• Set Decoration: Philippa Hart
• Set Decoration: Petra Vencelidesová
• Set Decoration: Klara Zimova
• Costume Design: Joanna Eatwell
• Line Producer: Kristina Hejduková
• Casting: Lucy Amos
• Casting: Arwa Salmanova
• Makeup Artist: Jean Carlos de Blas
• Hairstylist: Linda Eisenhamerová
• Makeup Designer: Karen Hartley-Thomas
• Makeup Artist: Fiona Matthews
• Production Manager: Aneta Chalas
• Unit Manager: Jirka Kasparek
• Additional Photography: Will Cummins
• Production Manager: Adam Porkert
• First Assistant Director: Jakub Dvorak
• First Assistant Director: Nick Laurence
• Second Assistant Director: Alicia Graf
• Second Assistant Director: Jan Gregor
• Second Assistant Director: Michael Middleton
• Third Assistant Director: Christian Proctor
• Art Department Coordinator: Marek Boros
• Art Department Assistant: Zoe Cavendish
• Property Buyer: Martin Dvořák
• Property Master: Shane Harford
• Graphic Designer: Beth Kendrick
• Graphic Designer: Gabrielle Leon
• Storyboard Artist: Ian McCaffrey
• Art Department Trainee: Yvon Rigg
• Property Master: Karel Stýblo
• Set Dresser: Jamie Walton
• ADR Mixer: Thibault Arnold
• Foley Editor: Stuart Bagshaw
• Sound Mixer: Rashad Hall-Heinz
• Foley Mixer: Sophia Hardman
• Sound Re-Recording Mixer: Rob Hughes
• ADR Recordist: Roisin King
• Production Sound Mixer: Alan MacFeely
• Sound Re-Recording Mixer: Markus Moll
• Second Assistant Sound: Richard Morgan
• Foley Artist: Jason Swanscott
• Special Effects Supervisor: Chris Reynolds
• Visual Effects Producer: Sarah Dicks
• Visual Effects Coordinator: Peter Elton
• Visual Effects Supervisor: David Fowler
• Visual Effects Supervisor: Menelaos Pampoukidis
• Visual Effects Editor: Robert Jewell
• Visual Effects Editor: Kornelijus Tuzas
• Stunts: Marek Brichcin
• Digital Imaging Technician: Harry Bennett-Snewin
• First Assistant Camera: Ben Brown
• Camera Trainee: Khadeeja Chowdhury
• Electrician: Paul Choy
• Gaffer: Mark Clayton
• Camera Trainee: Dearbhaile Collins
• Digital Imaging Technician: Jakub Hejduk
• Electrician: Sacha Kovacevic
• Best Boy Electric: Joshua Lewis-Green
• Steadicam Operator: Iain Mackay
• Gaffer: Filip Marek
• First Assistant “B” Camera: Martin Maryška
• Camera Operator: Martin Polách
• Electrician: Tomas Potuznik
• Second Assistant Camera: Karol Pruzinsky
• Video Assist Operator: Amir F. Qureshi
• Still Photographer: Julie Vrabelová
• Key Grip: Kim Worthington
• First Assistant “A” Camera: Ali Youssef
• Assistant Editor: Lara Channon
• Colorist: Jamie Welsh
• First Assistant Editor: Thora Woodward
• Digital Intermediate: Oscar Perillo
• Location Scout: Cristina Arcay
• Location Scout: Mark Gladwin
• Location Manager: Jessica Nosal
• Assistant Location Manager: Hannah Sapira
• Location Scout: Jojo Warne
• Script Supervisor: Hannah Kenneally-Muir
• Transportation Captain: Callum O’Donoghue
• Production Assistant: Michael Carrithers
• Production Executive: Laurence Cooper
• Production Coordinator: Joshua Darby
• Production Executive: Ali Moshref
• Production Secretary: Lindani Ndabandaba
• Assistant Production Coordinator: Nikolay Savov
• Production Assistant: Julia Szecsenyi

Movie Reviews:

• Manuel São Bento: FULL SPOILER-FREE REVIEW @ https://fandomwire.com/one-life-bfi-london-film-festival-review-a-must-watch-important-wwii-story/
• “One Life is yet another important story from WWII that deserves to be seen on the big screen.
• Despite not breaking genre barriers, it unfolds its narrative in a captivating manner, packed with devastating, bittersweet moments, but also filled with wonderful depictions of altruism, humanitarian sacrifice, and hope, culminating in a powerfully cathartic ending that serves as an ideal tribute to Sir Nicholas Winton.
• The cast carries the weight of the responsibility of the rescue mission with grounded care, relying on the legendary Anthony Hopkins to bear the explosion of the accumulated emotion.
• Beautifully edited, tear-inducing score… simply a must-watch.”
• Rating: A-
• CinemaSerf: Johnny Flynn performs quite well here as the young stockbroker Nicholas Winton who arrives in Prague just as the Nazis annexe the Sudetenland. He is horrified by the child poverty that he sees and decides, perhaps naively, to work with his British Refugee Council colleagues to try and expedite their removal to a safer and altogether earthier environment. Fortunately, his mother Babette (Helena Bonham Carter), herself from immigrant stock, is no slouch when it comes to doorstepping officials in Whitehall and soon has convinced the authorities to agree a fast-track mechanism that will enable him to get the children back to the UK provided they have guaranteed foster homes and the fairly massive sum of £50 as a guarantee. He returns to London and a massive public awareness/fundraising campaign ensues – as do eight trains carrying over six hundred children to safety. We are told this story via a series of flashbacks from the modern day Winton (Sir Anthony Hopkins) who now lives peacefully with his wife Greta (Lena Olin) in Berkshire. He is perusing a scrapbook he has left in a drawer for forty-odd years in which he has photographs and details of many of those passengers on the “Kinder” trains. His friend from back then (Jonathan Pryce) manages to put him in touch with Betty Maxwell – the wife of the wealthy publisher Robert, and next thing he is on British television’s most popular “That’s Life” programme that regularly reached 18 million people on a Sunday evening. This appearance poignantly introduces him to one survivor, his next sees that snowball into some sixty or so who owed their life and liberty to the efforts of Winton and his colleagues – whom he is always very clear to ensure are never forgotten. I recall watching this programme back in the day and the dramatisation is no less moving than the original broadcast. Sir Anthony offers us a considered performance – demonstrating a shy family man who rejects the trappings of fuss and celebrity because he sees his behaviour as nothing special. Doing the right thing. His efforts are touching and understated and nicely dovetail with the rather pushy and forthright Bonham Carter fighting tooth and nail against red tape in 1939. As an insight to Nazi tyranny it also works subtly. We see very little actual violence, but we see a squalor and hopelessness that robs the soul of hope as depressingly as the situation robs their stomachs of food. The film looks good and is sparingly scripted allowing our own imagination to do much of the thinking here.
• r96sk: A touching picture featuring Anthony Hopkins.
• ‘One Life’ is ‘Schindler’s List‘-esque, though perhaps more of a grounded portrayal of such events without the proper Hollywood-ness drama that that aforementioned flick holds; no hate on that sensational Steven Spielberg production by any means, it’s a far better film in fact. This 2023 release is very hearty though, one of those movies where it is impossible not to care for the people onscreen.
• There are plenty of emotional scenes that touch the feels, with one involving Hopkins right at the end particularly hitting. That man is excellent throughout, as expected. Johnny Flynn impresses too, he is just as important here as the Welshman. Helena Bonham Carter is a little underused, especially given she’s on the cover, but very good. Neat to see Jonathan Pryce appear, also.
• I actually remember seeing that real ‘That’s Life!‘ clip randomly on YouTube many years back and I didn’t realise until just before it’s portrayed here that it was reenacting that exact moment. Whether you watch this film or not, that video is truly a must-watch.
• Brent Marchant: For some of us, there’s no stopping when it comes to seeing through on a mission of vital importance. So it was in 1938, when a dedicated English stockbroker selflessly enabled the successful escape of 669 children (mostly Jewish) from Prague not long after the Third Reich “annexed” Czechoslovakia’s Sudetenland region, the first step toward Germany’s invasion of the country and the eventual onset of World War II. British-born Nicholas Winton (Anthony Hopkins), the descendant of German Jewish ancestors, and members of the British Committee for Refugees from Czechoslovakia both on the ground and in London worked tirelessly against seemingly impossible odds to facilitate the youngsters’ flight to freedom. In particular, Winton’s younger self (Johnny Flynn) and his determined mother (Helena Bonham Carter) battled a reluctant British bureaucracy, intolerant prejudicial attitudes and border-crossing obstacles to arrange protective train transport across Europe to secure the safety of the young refugees. But, for all of Winton’s successes, he felt remorse that he was unable to do more, especially when he looked back on what he accomplished 40 years after the fact. Thankfully, his efforts didn’t go unnoticed, at last receiving the recognition for what he did, earning him the gratitude of the survivors and the honors of a grateful nation, in essence becoming the UK’s counterpart to Oskar Schindler. Director James Hawes tells a compelling story in his debut feature film, though the execution, regrettably, could use some shoring up, especially in the film’s sluggishly paced, overly talky and occasionally meandering opening half. The picture’s back end, however, considerably makes up for these deficiencies, evoking genuine, well-earned, heartfelt emotions, qualities that could have made for a better release overall if they had been employed more fully earlier on. This is largely made possible by the powerful performances of Hopkins, Flynn, Bonham Carter and a host of supporting players, along with fine period piece production values. “One Life” ultimately delivers a message that we could all stand to hear more often, not only in supporting monumental undertakings like those depicted here, but also in being giving of ourselves in general, no matter how great or small the efforts or ventures might be. The world would certainly be a better place for doing so – and for the work of the Nicholas Wintons that reside within all of us.