When Steven Spielberg released his 1993 masterpiece “Schindler’s List” to rave reviews and surprising box office numbers that would lead him to win the Oscar for Best Picture and Director. The subject of the Holocaust in World War II about the mass genocide of Jews finally came to the public limelight and for Spielberg, he triumphed in bringing attention while healing wounds for those that lost families during that horrendous period. Since then, filmmakers had a hard time whether to make movies in that similar subject. Though Roberto Begnini’s “Life is Beautiful” was acclaimed, “Jakob the Liar” with Robin Williams received mixed reviews. For legendary 70s Polish filmmaker Roman Polanski, the Holocaust was a subject he wanted to touch since he was there as a child. His mother was killed in Auschwitz while his father survived the ordeal.

Since surviving the Holocaust, Polanski made a name for himself as an acclaimed filmmaker with such movies as “Rosemary’s Baby”, “Chinatown”, “The Tenant”, “Repulsion”, “Macbeth”, and “Knife in the Water”. He also had gained notoriety when his wife Sharon Tate was killed in 1969 by the Manson family and in 1977; he got in huge trouble when he had sex with a 13-year old girl in Jack Nicholson’s house. That incident would force Polanski to flee for the U.S. and relocate to his birth home in Paris, France where in 1979; he released another acclaimed film “Tess”. Since then, Polanski’s career kind of slowed down with some great film moments like “Bitter Moon”, “The Death and the Maiden”, and “Frantic” with Harrison Ford. While those films were good, they weren’t up to the greatness that Polanski once captured so he went back to his childhood memories to make a film on the Holocaust but he decided to use the subject of a famous Polish pianist named Wladyslaw Szpilman in his most personal film to date entitled “The Pianist”.

Based on the memoirs of Szpilman (who died a few years ago), “The Pianist” is a film about Wladyslaw Szpilman surviving the ghettos of Warsaw, Poland during Germany’s occupation in World War II. Throughout all the hardships, starvation, attempted attacks, and punishment, Szpilman’s story of survival and triumph is amazing, especially what was going on for Jews at the time of the Holocaust. Adapted into a script by Ronald Harwood, “The Pianist” is an in-depth look into the Holocaust where this time around, the film portrays all the characters as human beings including the Jews, Poles, and the monstrous tone of Nazi Germans. With a cast led by Adrien Brody as Szpilman in his Oscar-winning performance, “The Pianist” is a gripping, harrowing tale of survival told by one of cinema’s greatest directors in his best film since 1974’s “Chinatown”.

The film begins in 1940 when a Jewish pianist named Wladyslaw Szpilman is playing a recital for a Polish radio broadcast. For the young pianist as he knows about the recent invasion of Germany into Poland, what he doesn’t know is that his naiveté is shattered when a bomb hits the place he is playing as he escapes danger. He goes back to his home where he lives with his wealthy family that includes his parents (Frank Finlay and Maureen Lipman), his sisters Regina and Halina (Julia Rayner and Jessica Kate Meyer, respectively), and brother Henryk (Ed Stoppard). They anticipate the Germans coming knowing that they’re Jewish as they hide their money through a violin and try to survive as they learned that the British and the French are about to go to war.

For the hopeful Wladyslaw, he thinks things will be fine but he had to endure the prejudices as Warsaw has been occupied and Jews are forced to wear armbands with the Star of David that would identify them. Wladyslaw and his lady friend Dorota (Emilia Fox) walk through the city as her cousin is Jewish and is captured. Then Wladyslaw and his family learned that the Jews are forced to go into residents as they move into a Jewish ghetto where they’re occupied. Wladyslaw tries to get work permits for his family, as he has to endure the troubles that are going on as his brother Henryk tries to do things for himself but gets in trouble. Wladyslaw convinces a Jewish officer named Itzak Heller (Roy Smiles) to get his brother out, as Henryk is furious. With Wladyslaw making money for food by playing piano at a bar, he thinks things will be fine as he is trying to provide for the family but then, they’re moved again as Halina and Henryk are taken with the rest of the family being moved into a smaller ghetto.

Halina and Henryk survive as Wladyslaw’s father wonders where everyone is going as all the Jews are thinking of trying to fight against the Germans as Halina hears the cries of a young woman who had smothered her baby to avoid capture. The Szpilmans are then taken into train as Wladyslaw suddenly is pulled by Heller as Wladyslaw is seen his family being pushed into train carts as they’re taken to concentration camps leaving Wladyslaw distraught. He and the remaining Jews in the ghettos are forced to help build walls as he meets up with old friend Jurek (Michal Zebrowski). Jurek and some Jews plan for an escape from the ghettos as Wladyslaw tries to survive by building bricks for walls and giving out nails as he and his inmates live day to day with bread and potatoes while being punished by the Nazis. Finally, Jurek and Wladyslaw escape as Wladyslaw enters the city of Warsaw where he meets up with Dorota and her husband. He stays quietly from house-to-house living off the money of a benefactor as for nearly two years he would hide.

For that time, he sees the Jews trying to revolt to the death while missing his family and his joy in playing the piano. For all this time, he never lost hope or faith but when his benefactor had disappeared, it seems he’s in trouble. Losing massive amounts of weight and nearly losing his mind, he continues to hide and play dead while trying to survive, as the Germans’ grip on Poland is tighter than ever. Then one night while searching for food, he encounters a meeting with a German captain named Hosenfeld (Thomas Kretschmann). For sure, Wladyslaw thought he would die but something happens as Hosenfeld asked whom he is as Wladyslaw told him he was a pianist. All of a sudden, Wladyslaw plays a piece for Hosenfeld as his life was spared till the end of the war.

Now for a film that runs for two-and-a-half hours long might seem a long ordeal to watch for moviegoers. Thankfully for a master filmmaker like Polanski, the pacing and length of the film is attentive in its story not with just strong, intense dramatic moments but also elements of details of the cruelty that was going on at that time. The Oscar-award winning adapted screenplay by Ronald Harwood is filled with a linear and timeline structure that makes sure when did this happen what flaws the characters they have as they’re presented in a human light. It’s not just the Nazi Germans that Polanski wanted to portray as monsters that is already known but he also gives light that it was Polish people as well that were prejudice as well as Jews as they kill their own race just to survive. Polanski’s masterful direction definitely makes his movie not be another “Schindler’s List” but a film of its own, gripping power.

With Polanski trying to play this film, as true to the story, he makes sure the film doesn’t have an entirely bleak look. With a vast look from cinematographer Pawel Edelman, the film’s look shows elements of grayish colors to convey the bleaker, oppressive tone while there’s elements of sunlight in moments of despair but also in the film’s final moments, a sense of reflection from Wladyslaw Szpilman. In the scenes of battle and violence, they’re very intense with its effects as Polanski tries to play true to the time of the film and the weapons that were used. From the elements of detail in production design, costumes, art direction, and all elements of making a film look like 1940s Poland, Polanski indeed gets it right and with an immensely strong script, he got what he wanted.

The film’s cast is wonderfully used from the roles of Szpilman’s parents and siblings to the array of Warsaw residents including Emilia Fox’s enchanting performance as Dorota. While it’s a cast that includes many people, they all have their moments including the Nazi German soldiers and officers as they play up to the monstrous, vile tone of what they were. The biggest standout in the supporting roles easily is Thomas Kretschmann as Captain Hosenfeld. Kretschmann delivers a subtle performance as the German officer who spared Szpilman’s life with ease and intelligence as he proved that not all Germans were vile and evil.

The film’s central protagonist and probably the best performance overall in the film is Adrien Brody. Prior to this film, Brody was a talented, enigmatic actor who appeared in small indie films like “Harrison’s Flowers”, “Six Ways to Sunday”, and “Love the Hard Way” to standout roles in films like Terence Malick’s “The Thin Red Line” and Spike Lee’s “Summer of Sam”. In “The Pianist”, he delivers a gripping, heartbreaking performance as Wladyslaw Szpilman. Brody plays the role with ease and intelligence while not giving up any hope to the film’s character. Brody’s sympathetic performance is the heart of the film while he perfectly mimics the piano playing throughout the film that includes a lovely score from Wojciech Kilar and compositions from Frederic Chopin. Brody’s performance was so powerful, it’s amazing to believe that he would win the Oscar for Best Actor as the underdog against such heavyweight nominees that year. In the end, Brody truly earned the Oscar for that performance and he should get an extra point for smooching Halle Berry at that ceremony while later, getting on with Queen Latifah.

Overall, “The Pianist” is a welcoming return-to-form film from Roman Polanski who delivers his best film work since “Chinatown”. While some questioned whether he did deserve the Best Director Oscar prize beating Rob Marshall for “Chicago” and Peter Jackson for “Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers”. His work in “The Pianist” didn’t just proved that he did earn an Oscar for this film but it’s really for the fact that the win was years overdue. Still, he did earn another prestigious award, which is the coveted Golden Palm Award at the Cannes Film Festival in 2002. For this, Polanski proved himself once again as great filmmaker by taking his personal memories of the Holocaust to the big screen and giving him a much-deserved comeback. In the end, “The Pianist” is a gripping, harrowing masterpiece from Roman Polanski with a spellbinding performance from Adrien Brody.


Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for Groups
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age