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Movie Review
The Pianist
By Todd Heustess Published January 6, 2003
US Release: December 27, 2002
Directed by: Roman Polanski
Starring: Adrien Brody , Daniel Caltagirone
R
Running Time: 148 minutes
Domestic Box Office: $32,519,000
Directed by: Roman Polanski
Starring: Adrien Brody , Daniel Caltagirone
R
Running Time: 148 minutes
Domestic Box Office: $32,519,000
A-
A compelling, wrenching, heart breaking, and ultimately moving story
There?s a scene near the end of The Pianist (the highly acclaimed film by Roman Polanski) that moved me more than any movie scene this year or any recent year for that matter.
Wladyslaw Szpilman, a famous, Jewish classical pianist from Warsaw who miraculous survived the Nazi occupation of Poland, sits down at a piano and begins playing Chopin. And though he?s not sure yet if he is going to live or die (to say much more would be an unfair spoiler), he gives himself to the music and plays passionately as if his life may depend on it (it just may). It is a cathartic, deeply emotional moment for him and the audience because it has been so long since he has played the piano or heard music, and the audience too has been deprived of the luminous music of Chopin that we heard at the beginning of the movie.
After everything he has seen and experienced during the German occupation of Poland; all the pain, suffering, death, and humiliation that he has experienced, just the simple act of being able to play Chopin is cause for joy and celebration, a brief triumph of art and music over immense tragedy. As the scene progressed, I felt a strong surge of emotion as if I had been fighting for my life along with Szpilman. It was a wonderful moment and the highlight of the film for me.
The Pianist is based on Szpilman?s own accounts of his fight for survival during the Nazi occupation of Poland. The film started slowly for me as the audience is introduced to Szpilman and his family just as the German?s invade Poland. What is so interesting to me about this period of time was the disbelief and denial of the people who were being persecuted that it would get any worse, but in very methodical and deliberate fashion it did get worse - a lot worse. It started with restrictions on where Jews could eat or put their money, with wholesale relocation of the entire population to "ghettos" in Warsaw soon following.
Finally, many of the Polish Jews were rounded up and sent to concentration camps where they were murdered. There were some small pockets of resistance, but the majority of the Jews in Warsaw (at least
according to the film) were compliant in their own demise, not that they had much choice. As all of this unfolded onscreen, Szpilman remains a cipher, somewhat aloof, and I had a nagging feeling of d?j? vu from previous movies that dealt with the Holocaust. I was thinking to myself, "Yes, this was a horrible time in history but are we learning anything new here?"
Well, The Pianist is not a movie about the Holocaust but rather a movie that takes place during the time of the Holocaust. It is a movie about one man?s fight for survival and The Pianist becomes more compelling and involving as the focus narrows down to Szpilman. His celebrity as a famous pianist helped him avoid the concentration camps, as he stayed behind in Warsaw working for the Germans. His survival is as much dictated by dumb luck as it is his own fortitude, and you can sense that Szpilman never quite grasps the enormity of what is happening to his country, his family, to him. It all seems so unreal as the horrible events unfold around him, and this is perfectly embodied in Adrien Brody?s performance as Szpilman.
There is not a false note in his sublime performance. We see and feel his bewilderment, denial, incomprehension at the events around him, and his physical deterioration from hunger and sickness. But we also see and feel his determination to survive as long as possible and we definitely feel his love of music. There are long stretches of the movie with little or no dialogue, and yet audience interest never wanes a testament to both Brody and to Polanski. Brody?s performance is the best by an actor this year.
The Pianist depicts the amazing story of one man?s survival and while it may feel a little redundant of other Holocaust movies at the beginning, it evolves into a compelling, wrenching, heart breaking, and ultimately moving story about endurance, perseverance, and the power of art. It ranks as one of my favorite movies of 2002.
Wladyslaw Szpilman, a famous, Jewish classical pianist from Warsaw who miraculous survived the Nazi occupation of Poland, sits down at a piano and begins playing Chopin. And though he?s not sure yet if he is going to live or die (to say much more would be an unfair spoiler), he gives himself to the music and plays passionately as if his life may depend on it (it just may). It is a cathartic, deeply emotional moment for him and the audience because it has been so long since he has played the piano or heard music, and the audience too has been deprived of the luminous music of Chopin that we heard at the beginning of the movie.
After everything he has seen and experienced during the German occupation of Poland; all the pain, suffering, death, and humiliation that he has experienced, just the simple act of being able to play Chopin is cause for joy and celebration, a brief triumph of art and music over immense tragedy. As the scene progressed, I felt a strong surge of emotion as if I had been fighting for my life along with Szpilman. It was a wonderful moment and the highlight of the film for me.
The Pianist is based on Szpilman?s own accounts of his fight for survival during the Nazi occupation of Poland. The film started slowly for me as the audience is introduced to Szpilman and his family just as the German?s invade Poland. What is so interesting to me about this period of time was the disbelief and denial of the people who were being persecuted that it would get any worse, but in very methodical and deliberate fashion it did get worse - a lot worse. It started with restrictions on where Jews could eat or put their money, with wholesale relocation of the entire population to "ghettos" in Warsaw soon following.
Finally, many of the Polish Jews were rounded up and sent to concentration camps where they were murdered. There were some small pockets of resistance, but the majority of the Jews in Warsaw (at least
according to the film) were compliant in their own demise, not that they had much choice. As all of this unfolded onscreen, Szpilman remains a cipher, somewhat aloof, and I had a nagging feeling of d?j? vu from previous movies that dealt with the Holocaust. I was thinking to myself, "Yes, this was a horrible time in history but are we learning anything new here?"
Well, The Pianist is not a movie about the Holocaust but rather a movie that takes place during the time of the Holocaust. It is a movie about one man?s fight for survival and The Pianist becomes more compelling and involving as the focus narrows down to Szpilman. His celebrity as a famous pianist helped him avoid the concentration camps, as he stayed behind in Warsaw working for the Germans. His survival is as much dictated by dumb luck as it is his own fortitude, and you can sense that Szpilman never quite grasps the enormity of what is happening to his country, his family, to him. It all seems so unreal as the horrible events unfold around him, and this is perfectly embodied in Adrien Brody?s performance as Szpilman.
There is not a false note in his sublime performance. We see and feel his bewilderment, denial, incomprehension at the events around him, and his physical deterioration from hunger and sickness. But we also see and feel his determination to survive as long as possible and we definitely feel his love of music. There are long stretches of the movie with little or no dialogue, and yet audience interest never wanes a testament to both Brody and to Polanski. Brody?s performance is the best by an actor this year.
The Pianist depicts the amazing story of one man?s survival and while it may feel a little redundant of other Holocaust movies at the beginning, it evolves into a compelling, wrenching, heart breaking, and ultimately moving story about endurance, perseverance, and the power of art. It ranks as one of my favorite movies of 2002.
Todd's Grade: A-
Todd's Overall Grading: 13 graded movies
| A | 38.5% | |
| B | 61.5% | |
| C | 0.0% | |
| D | 0.0% | |
| F | 0.0% |
