Doing all you can

NICK EICHER, HOST: Today is Friday, March 15. Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day. Good morning. I’m Nick Eicher.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: And I’m Myrna Brown. Looking closely at the calendar and pulling out my momma Myrna hat.

Talking directly now to college students and recent grads. We are accepting applications for this year’s WORLD Journalism Institute College Course at Dordt University in Sioux Center, Iowa.

Nick will be there, so will I, May 16th - June 1st, helping to teach you, college student/recent grad how to tell stories informed by a Biblical foundation.

The deadline to apply is in two weeks. It’s not the kind of application you want to race through.

So, get started and apply by March 29th at WJI.WORLD.

EICHER: And I happen to know we’re filling up. So if you’re feeling a nudge toward a career in journalism, it’s a terrific course, and I’d urge you not to delay.

Coming next on The World and Everything in It: it’s time to check in with what’s happening at the movies.

Last weekend was the busiest that movie theaters have been so far in 2024. Kung Fu Panda 4 took the top spot with an opening that attracted all ages, and Dune: Part Two stayed strong in its second week at number two.

BROWN: But if you’re not interested in big splashy sequels, arts and culture editor Collin Garbarino says there’s an excellent, heartfelt film debuting in theaters this weekend.

COLLIN GARBARINO: One Life is an excellent new movie based on the true story of Nicholas Winton—a man who worked tirelessly to find British foster homes for thousands of children who were put at risk by Hitler’s invasions.

YOUNG NICKY: What’s this?

DOREEN: The fuhrer's travel plans in black and white. He’s got his sights set on half of Europe. It’s just a question of when.

In March of 1938, Nazi Germany rolled into Austria. Later that year, under the guise of pan-Germanism, it took the Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia. Hitler then began eyeing the rest of the country.

These invasions and annexations caused a surge of refugees, many of them Jewish. As the great European powers sat back and watched, a few individuals decided they needed to step in to help. British stock broker Nicholas Winton, called Nicky by his friends, was one of them.

HANA: Your first time in Czechoslovakia?

YOUNG NICKY: Yes, yes, yes, it is.

HANA: Shame you didn’t come sooner when there was more of it.

Late in 1938, Nicky travels from London to Prague to spend a week volunteering with the British Committee for Refugees from Czechoslovakia. He’s horrified by the refugees’ living conditions, and he’s scared of what will happen to them if Germany invades. He’s especially worried about the children.

YOUNG NICKY: The children. We have to move them.

DOREEN: Says the man who arrived yesterday.

YOUNG NICKY: Well, I’m not suggesting it’s going to be easy.

DOREEN: A mass transit of children. Without money or visas…

YOUNG NICKY: We’ll find a way.

The film deftly moves back and forth between the events of 1938 and 1988 when an elderly Nicky comes to terms with his role in the war. Johnny Flynn plays the young Nicky, full of energy and idealism, and Anthony Hopkins the older Nicky, melancholic and self-effacing despite his heroic efforts 50 years before.

OLD NICKY: Tell me something. Do you ever think about the children and what happened to them?

This historical film about tragedy and memory is rated PG, so there’s not much to object to. This isn’t a typical war movie. There’s not a lot of action, though director James Hawes manages to build plenty of tension.

And since this isn’t a typical war movie, young Nicky isn’t a typical war hero. He’s just a stock broker, not a soldier, and his greatest gift is his ability to do paperwork. But a knack for paperwork is just the kind of gift that’s most needed when working with the British immigration office. Nicky’s mundane talent and his sense of justice allow him to cut through bureaucratic entanglements to get visas for children in need.

LEADBETTER: The process takes time.

YOUNG NICKY: We don’t have time. The German army could cross the border any day.

Early in the film, we see the younger Nicky run out of chocolate as he’s trying to win the trust of the refugee children. The scene foreshadows the fact that despite his best efforts, Nicky won’t be able to help everyone. This inability still haunts the older Nicky, and Anthony Hopkins delivers another brilliant performance as a regretful man who’s dedicated his life to service but can’t escape the specter that he could have done more.

AUDIO: [Screaming and whistles blowing]

The tense moments take place in the scenes set in 1938 and ’39, but the film’s emotional punch comes during the scenes set in 1988. The elderly Nicky doesn’t want accolades for saving Jewish children from the Nazis. But he’s found his old scrap book that preserves the memory of those he rescued, and he wants to make sure they’re not forgotten.

GRETE: And you’ve got to find the right home for that. Somewhere it will be appreciated.

When word of Nicholas Winton’s achievements came to light in 1988, he became something of a celebrity in Britain. And even though I knew how the story would unfold, I still wept freely during the film’s climax. There’s something truly beautiful that happens when an otherwise ordinary person uses an ordinary gift for an extraordinary purpose.

I’m Collin Garbarino.

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