This great humanitarian feat remained unknown for over 50 years, during which Winton lived tormented by all the children he could not rescue, until in the late 1980s he was invited to a television program where the producers reunited him with dozens of the children he saved, now adults, who introduced him to their children and grandchildren. 

Dubbed by the press as the 'British Schindler,' in 2003, Queen Elizabeth II knighted Winton for his "services to humanity, in saving Jewish children from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia".

Eight decades later, his story remains unknown to the general public, an error that the film One Life seeks to correct, starring Anthony Hopkins. Following its theatrical release last spring, the movie has already captivated Prime Video viewers, bringing it to the third spot of the most watched over the weekend of its streaming arrival. 

'Winton's children'

'Winton's children'

Directed by James Hawes (The Alienist, Slow Horses), the film alternates the narration between a 79-year-old Winton reminiscing about his past, and the 29-year-old youth trying to help groups of Jewish children in Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia hide and escape, just before the start of World War II. 

The screenplay by Lucinda Coxon (The Danish Girl) is based on the book If It's Not Impossible...The Life of Sir Nicholas Winton, written by Barbara Winton, daughter of the philanthropist. It was she who asked Hopkins to portray her father, a task the actor accepted as soon as he read the script. The extras who are part of the audience in the 1980s program are the actual children of those whom Winton had saved.

'One Life'

Critical Reception

The press has highlighted Hopkins's impeccable performance and the touching nature of the story, as noted by The Guardian, where official critic Peter Bradshaw said: "You'd need a heart of stone not to be moved by this extraordinary true story."

In the same vein, Randy Myers signed his review in SanJosé Mercury, stating that the film "Undoubtedly left me in tears, and that is the merit of Hopkins's impeccable performance, as well as Hawes's direct and assured direction."

"As we continue to grapple with current issues of war, refugee crisis, and rising anti-Semitism, the relevance of the film is so poignant that you cannot help but be moved by it," noted Rex Reed in his text in Observer.

Controversy

The film's advertising campaign sparked outrage when the predominantly Jewish heritage was omitted from the 'Kindertransport' children, the name by which this operation was known, and instead, they were described as Central Europeans.

Following the protests, BBC Film changed the description of the film, writing instead that Winton had saved predominantly Jewish children.

*This article has been automatically translated using artificial intelligence