Over the following years Oskar and Itzhak together will save the lives of over a thousand Polish Jews through providing falsified documents and employing them in one of Oskar’s factories.
Real life heart warmer: No-one ever really found out what Schindler’s motives were for rescuing those who worked in his factories at great personal risk, and so his actions remaining an unsullied example of humanity and integrity.
The Pursuit of Happyness - sees the theatrical debut of Jaden Smith, son of Will Smith, who also stars in this film. The Pursuit of Happyness is the uplifting story about Chris Gardner (Will Smith) who, having been abandoned by his wife, takes on a challenging internship hoping to eventually become a stock brokerm, so as to better provide for himself and his child.
Various bumps lie in Chris’ path, not least losing his house when the IRS take his last $600 for tax, meaning he and his son have no-where to live.
Throughout the film we see Gardner juggling the demands of single parenthood with the strenuous workload that his internship requires, ultimately gaining the coveted job at Glyde and so securing his financial future, proving that his struggle was worth it.
Real life heart warmer: Chris Gardner is now a well-to-do business man who has many and diverse philanthropic ventures, including sponsorship of the Glide Memorial United Methodist Church, where he and his son Christopher were given much needed shelter when they were between homes.
Hotel Rwanda - Don Cheadle stars as the hero in this 2004 biopic about Paul Rusesabagina, an hotelier caught in the middle of the 1994 Rwandan genocide who puts his life on the line to save his wife (a native Tutsi) and over a thousand refugees.
In a Rwanda where corruption and bribery are rife, and political friction between the Hutu and Tutsi tribes is barely being kept under control by the authorities, Paul is the manager of Hôtel des Mille Collines.
As civil war erupts Paul manages, through correctly placed bribes and favours, to save both his family and their neighbours, so that as word of this spreads more and more refugees poor into his hotel looking for shelter.
For Paul it is crucial to maintain the façade of high-class hotel in order to divert the soldiers that come looking for Tutsi people, and we follow his struggle to do this while care for both the refugees and provide strength for his family.
Real life heart warmer: Following the success of Hotel Rwana Paul Rusesabagina started up the Hotel Rwanda Rusesabagina Foundation (HRRF) to provide financial assistance to the women and children affected by the genocides in Rwanda and other African nations, and he has also received numerous rewards for his actions in Rwanda.
Seabiscuit - following the story of three men whose fortunes are raised through association with an unlikely champion, Seabiscuit, is a classic underdog story that captured the imagination of America.
Unusual in that it mainly concerns the life of a horse, the story relates the racing career of an undersized thoroughbred racehorse whose talents are overlooked until he crosses paths with jockey Red Pollard, whose family have been a victim of the Great Depression.
Red himself has to overcome a myriad of obstacles, including being almost blind in eye, a rage problem and a dodgy leg, before finally being able to race Seabiscuit to racing glory at the Santa Anita track.
Real life heart warmer: Overall Red Pollard rode the Biscuit 30 times in a competitive situation, and won a total of 18 races - all of which were stake or handicap runs.
Extraordinary Measures is released 26th February.