“One Life” is a new biographical drama film starring the two-time Oscar winner Anthony Hopkins.
So let’s find out some trivia and facts about the film.
- One Life is a 2023 biographical drama film
- It is directed by James Hawes
- It is based on the true story of British humanitarian Sir Nicholas Winton
- The film follows him as he looks back on his past efforts to help groups of Jewish children in German-occupied Czechoslovakia to hide and flee in 1938–39
- This happens just before the beginning of World War II
- The film stars Anthony Hopkins and Johnny Flynn as Sir Nicholas
- With Lena Olin, Romola Garai, Alex Sharp, Jonathan Pryce, and Helena Bonham Carter in supporting roles
- One Life had its world première at the Toronto International Film Festival on 9 September 2023
- Its European premiere was at the 2023 London Film Festival
- It was released in the United Kingdom on 1 January 2024 by Warner Bros. Pictures
- The film received mostly positive reviews
- With praise for the performances of the cast, particularly Hopkins’
- On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 88% rating
- Based on 99 critics’ reviews
- With an average rating of 7.3/10
- The website’s consensus reads: “Held aloft by outstanding work from a tremendous cast, One Life pays heartwarming tribute to a remarkable humanitarian effort”
- Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 69 out of 100
- Based on 30 critics
- Indicating “generally favorable” reviews
- Despite rescuing predominantly Jewish children, on the BBC Film website, this fact was omitted
- Cinema operators in the UK therefore mentioned in their advertising for One Life that Nicholas Winton had saved “children from Central Europe”
- Following protests, BBC Film changed the film’s description
- Writing instead that Winton had saved “predominantly Jewish” children
- One Life won Cinema for Peace Dove for The Most Valuable Film of the Year 2024 in Berlin, February 19th
- In September 2020 Anthony Hopkins and Johnny Flynn were announced as being attached to a biopic about Sir Nicholas Winton called One Life
- From a Lucinda Coxon and Nick Drake screenplay, Aisling Walsh was set to direct with See-Saw Films and BBC Film producing through executive producers Rose Garnett and Simon Gillis, and producers Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, and Joanna Laurie
- FilmNation Entertainment and Cross City Films were to be managing international sales
- In September 2022 it was revealed that James Hawes was attached to direct his feature film debut
- While Helena Bonham Carter had joined the cast as Winton’s mother, Babi Winton
- It was also revealed that Guy Heeley was on board as producer and that the screenplay was based on the book If It’s Not Impossible…The Life of Sir Nicholas Winton, written by his daughter Barbara Winton
- Also announced as joining the cast were Jonathan Pryce, Romola Garai and Alex Sharp
- Filming took place in London in September 2022
- With principal photography also taking place in Prague
- Winton’s daughter requested that Hopkins should play her father
- Hopkins read the script and accepted the part
- Winton’s son praised Hopkins’ portrayal of his father
- One survivor called the film a “fitting tribute”
- The extras making up the recreation of the show’s audience are the actual children of those Winton had saved
- The film’s publicity campaign sparked outrage when the predominantly Jewish heritage of the children on the kindertransport was omitted
- They were instead described as ‘Central European’
