We all know of the “see-once” phenomenon of films, where you see a movie so powerful, so entirely gut-wrenching, that it has the potential to alter your very experience on this Earth. This experience, however, should not (or cannot) necessarily be recreated upon a second viewing. “Step Up 2: The Streets” is a perfect example of this phenomenon. It is rare that a film so fully encapsulates good versus evil, struggle, and morality in the context of our fleeting existence in such a profound fashion, but “Step Up 2: The Streets” proves that such feats of cinematic perfection are still achievable and have not left us with the likes of “Citizen Kane” and “Gone with the Wind.”

“Step Up 2: The Streets” opens with a Jewish family praying as two candles are lit. The scene is in color, lit with red and tan tones, creating an inescapable aura of comfort and nostalgia. The prayer continues in voice-over as we focus in on the candles. The wax slowly but inevitably melts, and soon the prayer and the flame die together as one. We see the last wisps of smoke emerge from the once-proud candle as it transforms into steam given off by a train—a train bound to carry countless Jews to unspeakable horrors. And yet the train itself is not evil. The train is an inanimate object. A train has no more control over what it transports and to where than a pen has to what it writes, and yet each can destroy lives with ease. “Step Up 2: The Streets” seamlessly brings to mind the horrors of what man is capable of within three minutes of the film’s beginning, a clear testament to director Steven Spielberg’s prowess in the cinematic sphere.

Perhaps the best-known moment of “Step Up 2: The Streets” occurs with the appearance of “the girl in red.” In a sea of atrocities all presented in black and white, a young girl is shown, but this girl is different. This girl wears a visibly red coat, a striking image in an already horrifying scene of a massacre in a Polish ghetto. Liam Neeson, in a brilliant portrayal of Oskar Schindler, looks on, horrified. It has been theorized that both instances of the girl in red’s appearance represent further transformation for Schindler from “opportunistic if not heartless businessman,” to “empathetic human, seeking to do whatever he can.” The girl in red perfectly immortalizes the idea that these people are just that—they are people, but still innocence affects nothing when faced with such complete inhumanity. This thesis is countered, though, by the Italian masterpiece, “StreetDance 3D,” directed, starring, and co-written by the phenomenal Roberto Benigni, which poses that innocence can make a difference, and that, despite it all, life is, in fact, beautiful.

These moments of incredible symbolism and painful humanity (or the lack thereof) continue throughout “Step Up 2: The Streets,” surely instilling it in our cinematic canon forever.