One Life (2023)

This topic contains:

• overall comments and recommendations
• details of classification and consumer advice lines for One Life (2023)
• a review of One Life (2023) completed by the Australian Council on Children and the Media (ACCM) on 21 December 2023.

Overall comments and recommendations

About the movie

This section contains details about the movie, including its classification by the Australian Government Classification Board and the associated consumer advice lines. Other classification advice (OC) is provided where the Australian film classification is not available.

ACCM review

This review of the movie contains the following information:

• a synopsis of the story
• themes
• use of violence
• material that may scare or disturb children
• product placement
• sexual references
• nudity and sexual activity
• use of substances
• coarse language
• the movie’s message

A synopsis of the story

One Life is based on the true story of Nicholas Winton, a British humanitarian, who helped several hundreds of Jewish children escape Czechoslovakia from the Nazi invasion. Through a series of flashbacks, Nicholas (Anthony Hopkins) remembers how, as a young man in 1938, he travelled to Prague to work with a British aid organisation working with refugees. Younger Nicholas (Johnny Flynn) is shocked by the number of children living on the streets with little hope of surviving the winter let alone the invading Nazis. He persuades Romola (Doreen Warriner), the British aid worker in charge, to help him draw up a list of children to evacuate to Britain. He then returns to Britain to arrange the difficult task of immediate visas, funds and willing adoptive families. His extraordinary achievement became known as the Kindertransport. During the war, around 18,000 Czechoslovakian children were sent to concentration camps with less than 200 surviving. Nicholas managed to save 669 children.

After the war, Nicholas returned to civilian life and his achievements went largely unnoticed. In 1988 however, Nicholas was reunited with many of the children he saved through a television programme called That’s Life, that featured his story. Many of the children, who by then were adults, were in the audience that night and were overjoyed to meet the man who saved their lives.

WW11; Nazis; Refugees; Racism; Charity.

There is some violence in this movie, including:

• War scenes of people being shoved onto trains at gunpoint.
• A father tells how two of his sons, aged 12 and 14, were beaten, thrown down the stairs and hit with clubs.
• German tanks roll into the streets of Prague, draped in Nazi flags and armed by soldiers.

Material that may scare or disturb children

• Nothing further noted for this age group.

In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes and scary visual images, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children aged five to eight, including the following:

• Many scenes of children being separated from their parents – both refugees being evacuated to Britain and children being taken away by force.

In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children aged eight to thirteen, including the following:

• Scenes of refugees sleeping on the streets in makeshift camps. It’s the middle of winter and sick children are seen coughing. One woman weeps for her dead child. One of the aid workers says that the children probably won’t survive the winter.
• Graffiti is seen which says, ‘REFUJEWS GO HOME’.
• One of the survivors tells Nicholas that she thinks her father died on a death march and her mother died of Typhus. Another survivor tells how all of his family were gassed in concentration camps.

• There is talk of a woman who wanted to kill herself but decided to help others instead.

Product placement

• None noted.

Sexual references

• None noted.

Nudity and sexual activity

There is some nudity and sexual activity in this movie, including:

• Some bare-chested men are seen on a TV show.

Use of substances

There is some use of substances in this movie, including:

• Drinking at several venues – at home, at clubs and restaurants.
• Several characters smoke.

Coarse language

There is some coarse language in this movie, including:

• Oh God
• Damn
• Bloody.

In a nutshell

One Life is based on the true story of Nicholas Winton, a brave and determined man, who, along with his equally determined mother and British aid workers, saved 669 children from certain death by the German invasion of Czechoslovakia. The film is very well portrayed and emotionally moving. The graphic depictions of the war scenes are kept to a minimum, however, due to the theme of the movie and its slow-paced style, it isn’t suitable for children under 8 and parental guidance is recommended for children aged 8 to 10.

The main messages from this movie are that ordinary people can achieve extraordinary things if they truly believe in what they do; and that good can still prevail in times of darkness.

Values in this movie that parents may wish to reinforce with their children include:

• Bravery
• Courage
• Determination
• Charity
• Kindness
• Teamwork
• Collaboration.

This movie could also give parents the opportunity to discuss with their children the importance of standing up for good when times are bad. It would also give parents an opportunity to discuss the historic events of World War Two, as a reminder of what happens when evil takes over and the importance of resisting it at all costs.