One Life
“I never thought what I did 70 years ago was going to have such a big impact as apparently it has. If it is now going to help people to live for the future, that would be an added bonus.”
— Sir Nicholas Winton (May 19, 1909 – July 1, 2015)
It was such an honor to have been asked to be in the audience as part of the research for Warner Bros production of One Life in May. I remember being asked if it was a film I would watch again and recommend to others. Hands down, yes I would because I’m a sucker for a film that’s got depth to it. I love a film that’s based on a true story, or a biopic, and manages to change my views on the world (and the people in it) for the better. Films that celebrate those people who selflessly give back to the world. So I was pleasantly surprised to find an invite to see the final edit for the October premiere. This means I’ve finally been given the green light by Warner Bros. to introduce you to British humanitarian, Nicholas Winton (played by Anthony Hopkins).
The film tells the true story of the humble hero, Sir Nicholas Winton, a stockbroker, who quit his job on the eve of World War II to save 669 children from the Nazis. With threats of war fast approaching, Winton visited Prague and witnessed first-hand Jewish refugee families with little to no food or shelter. He immediately realised it was a race against time to see how many children he and his friends could rescue before time ran out. He then had the task of finding British families who would foster these rescued children. Winton arranged for 9 trains, and transport papers, covered immigration fees, forged signatures to speed up the process, and even paid bribes to safely transport them to England.
Helena Bonham-Carter plays Winton’s mother, Babi.
Fast forward fifty years later, in 1988, Winton is haunted by the fate of the children he wasn’t able to bring to safety in England. It’s not until a live television show “That’s Life” surprises him with the surviving children who are now adults seated all around him. Finally, he can make peace with the loss he had carried for five decades.
What else fascinates me about Sir Nicholas Winton is that he kept this story a secret for 50 years, until his wife found his notebook with photos and records of the 669 Czech and Slovak children he saved.
*One Life is a Warner Bros. Pictures, BBC Film, and MBK Productions presentation in association with Cross City Films, Filmnation Entertainment, and Lipsync and is a See-Saw Films Production.
