MOVIE REVIEW: ‘The Pianist’
Nominated for: Best Picture, Director, Actor, Cinematography, Editing, Costume Design and Adapted Screenplay
“The Pianist” starts out as a Holocaust movie — bombs exploding, windows breaking, Nazis beating and killing and trains taking pale, starving masses to concentration camps.
But the magic of this film is that after about an hour, it becomes less about the horrors of the war and of Nazi occupation and more about the absolute determination to survive and to recreate a life after complete destruction.
This film provokes thought and reflection on the determination to live that is innate in all humans, the determination that dies when faced with adversity and challenges. It inspires thought and reflection on what it means to want to live and what we are willing to go through in order to do so.
The story centers around one man, Wladyslaw Szpilman, a classical pianist who is forced to watch his family get loaded onto the cattle cars of a train headed for Treblinka. He is saved by a sympathetic policeman and then compelled to survive in a Warsaw ghetto until he finds a way to escape. He must then avoid being found and is supported by sparse rations from compassionate allies.
The role of Szpilman is brilliantly played by Adrien Brody. He brings such a quiet understatement to the role that the performance is more genuine and real than most bio-pics ever dream of presenting. Brody not only lost weight and shunned actual friends for months before the picture was to be filmed, he also practiced playing the piano for hours each day.
It is interesting that almost every frame features Brody in one capacity or another, showing the absolute contribution the actor made to this film. His performance demands recognition and deserves notice. It’s rare for an actor to give such a whole-hearted and true voice to a character.
Director Roman Polanski has crafted one bitter-sweet story. As a Jew who lived through the Holocaust, he has a first-hand reference point to tell this story from. His parents had been living in France and returned to Poland two years before the war began. They were sent to concentration camps, where his mother died. Polanski escaped and lived with several Catholic families.
Polanski’s life often parallels that of Szpilman’s. It’s easy to see why he was interested in telling this story. Screenwriter Ronald Harwood, also Jewish, lived through the war and now uses the same memories to write this haunting tale.
“The Pianist” is a stunning and moving re-creation of a ravaged Poland. This is a poignant film which has the power to move and inspire, if the audience is willing to admit to themselves the need for the human spirit.
Justin Berry is working toward his second bachelor’s degree in theater performance. Comments can be sent to justinsb26@hotmail.com.