"The Pianist" (Focus Features)
"The Pianist" has been nominated for an Academy Award as Best Picture of the year. Because of its subject matter it was almost predestined to be nominated. Hollywood loves films about World War II such as "Saving Private Ryan," "Stalag 17," "The Diary of Anne Frank" and others. "The Pianist" tells the true story of Wladyslaw Szpilman, a Polish Jew who survived the War and had a career as a concert pianist.
Roman Polanski directed this tragic tale of one man’s fight for survival. He infuses the story with instances that glorify the goodness of mankind and contradicts them with scenes of man’s inhumanity to man. Szpilman (Adrien Brody) saw it all and lived to tell the tale.
The film starts with the bombing of Poland and the later occupation by the Germans. Szpilman and his family are eventually forced into the ghetto and later are slotted for transport to the camps. As we get to know the members of the family, the horrors of what they are suffering become more intense.
There are scenes of atrocities which are almost impossible to watch. Knowing that they are true only heightens the repulsion the audience feels. Wisely Polanski adds scenes from Szpilman’s story which show that even some Germans have a conscience and that helps give the story balance. It also helps to know that the film is based on Szpilman’s autobiography which means he survived.
Brody is amazing as Szpilman and certainly deserves his nomination as Best Actor. He allows his character to become more and more frail and more and more bedeviled. Most of this suffering is captured in his eyes as he looks on a world that has no hope.
The film is rated R for violence and profanity.
"The Pianist" is not an easy movie to watch but ultimately it becomes a testimonial to man’s endurance. It also is strangely uplifting due to the circumstances of the last fifteen minutes. This ends the movie on a positive note and makes it a celebratory experience rather than a depressing one.
I scored "The Pianist" a melodic 7 out of 10.
©2003 Jackie K. Cooper
