The Pianist
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Movie Reviews of The Pianist
Movie Review: Essential viewing
Summary: 5 Stars
I'll preface this by saying that a) I have studied the Holocaust quite a bit, particularly in relation to the modern media, and b) I am not Jewish, and feel that I therefore can never have a full understanding of the Shoah and its implications. That being said, this is probably the best drama that I have seen about the period. It drives me to distraction to hear people say that this film is "slow", "not engaging", or "unemotional." Those who think this is slow should probably not even be watching it, because they clearly don't have the capacity to even attempt to glean insight into the Shoah (which is of course, impossible for anyone but survivors to understand, as Primo Levy said). This is not a subject that should be trimly packaged to pander to American's ridiculous attention spans. This is not a long film. I shudder to think what people who say this is long would say in response to Lanzmann's "Shoah." Those who find that it is not engaging are not seeing the exuisite subtlety of the film. Adrien Brody's performance is absolutely beyond description, and probably beyond the abilities of 90% of today's actors. All I can say is that this film is driven (particularly in the second half) almost entirely by his eyes and the way he moves, down to the finest detail. It could be missed if you are not paying this film the rapt attention it deserves. As far as this film being unemotional, I'd say that it is mercifully and tastefully lacking in pathos. If you need a director or an orcestra to tell you how to feel, watch Schindler's List, it's perfect for you. Spielberg is more than happy to help you avoid all that mental and emotional work, and to tell you when to cry and when to stop.
Another aspect of this film that makes it all the more deserving of the cultural-icon status that Schindler's List occupies in America is that it does not attempt to gather up the entire Shoah into 2.5 hours. Polanski isn't trying to tell the whole story, which shows a great deal of humility where Spielberg shows hubris. Without denying that film is, intrinsically, pop culture, this film is something beyond pop and marketing (this mentality is so sadly lacking, particularly in the currently climate of the Bush regime). When I first went to see this film, I had zero expectations, other than supposing that Adrien Brody would perform well. I hadn't "prepared" myself for it at all. Within five minutes, I was absolutely alone in that theater with this movie (figuratively). I found myself crying throughout the film because I was so moved by Brody's performance. I could rhapsodize about this film for much longer, but I'll try to be more succinct. This is *the* drama (though it is a true story, and an equally laudable book) to see about the event. There are documentaries (Night and Fog, and again, Shoah) that should not be missed, either, but this is a good example of how best to portray these events for mass audiences. I can only hope that this will be shown in schools sometime in the near future as a learning tool, and thus give young adults a more healthy viewpoint than they get from the usual suspects - Schindler's List and Life Is Beautiful. If you are able to read German, I highly recommend reading the article "Die Seele In System" by Georg Seesslen, which is archived at the website www.zeit.de. It offers even more reasons why The Pianist is a uniquely valuable film, and some good thoughts on media and the portrayal of the Holocaust.
Movie Review: Very good movie
Summary: 5 Stars
Now, I obviously see a lot of comparisons of The Pianist to The Schindler's List. These are probably only two images of holocaust Americans seem to have been exposed to on the silver screen so no wonder (which in itself is pretty sad). Not going into the discussion which one is closest to the historical reality, one must say that these are two very different movies despite the subject matter. They are different because the directors are different. Look at Polanski's movies, especially his best early period (to name Knife in the Water at least). Polanski is an observer of the reality. Yes, think of this lonely child wondering the streets and trying to survive like he did and looking at the world with attention and sometimes fear. That really is reflected in his movies. He is a great documentarian so to speak of the story he tells us about. He does not develop the characters, does not go into their motivations and internal struggles. He lets us observe. That is why he maybe critisized for being removed from the story and "cold." I disagree. I love Polanski and I love a lot of his movies (and hate a lot of them as well) but he has a certain way of telling the story. From this perspective, "The Pianist" is great. And obviously I loved the fact that unlike so many American movies, this is a movie about a regular person, not a hero, not a bad guy but someone just like you or me (yes, a great pianist of course!) a decent person trying to survive the madness and horror of history - being helped and being screwed by others at the same time. In this way he is an everyman. I did enjoy that. I did enjoy the portrayal of Warsaw (the city I was born and raised in and which was leveled be the Nazis - and by the way, he was the only director who ever thanked people of Warsaw for their patience during the shooting as many streets had to be closed) but I was not thrilled by the cinematography. But yet again, this is not his style. He is not a Gone-With-The-Wind-larger-than-life imagery. This is again not a review of Schindler's List but comparisons are inevitable. SL, which I give 5 stars as well and make it a must see movie as well, is much more of an American picture. There has to be a "human spirit prevails" and happy ending and some long unrealistic speaches etc ect. That's the target audience and that's what they are used to. They look for closure and something uplifting. I can understand that. Besides that SL, while being very different from The Pianist, is a great movie. It has a phenomenal cinematography (I just can't wait for a DVD release, what's up with that?!), some breathtaking and powerful moments and most of all great character development. Ralph Finnes role is a masterpiece of its own. He is so incredibly believeble and horrifying. The change happening in Schindler. SL pays more attention to detail, makes better use of terrain and supporting characters. All this makes for a great movie. Yet, a movie very much in a hollywood style. It uses points to get the message, The Pianist is much more linear in conveying the story (should we say as life is...). That is why some may criticize it as being monotoneous. Well, if it is, so are our lives. Definitely the best movie of the year (which means nothing considering the competition). Go see it and judge it for yourself. Now I expect some bad movie from Mr. Polanski. He seems to be true to this good/bad/good pattern for years now.Movie Review: The best that 2002 had to offer!
Summary: 5 Stars
Winner of the Golden Palm, should have taken home the Oscar, `The Pianist' is, in my humble opinion, the best film of 2002. It's one of those films that truly speaks to me on so many levels and resonates with me long after I'm done watching it. Adrien Brody's masterful performance was rightly rewarded during that years Oscar ceremony, as was Roman Polanski's brilliant directing and Ronald Harwood's excellent screenplay. The heart of this film, of course, is found in Adrien's performance, a tour'de'force as they call it.
Brody plays Wladyslaw Szpilman, a famous pianist who is on the cuff of fame when the Nazi's invade Warsaw and he's forced into hiding. `The Pianist' chronicles Wladyslaw's perilous journey and sheds light on those who helped him along the way, those who put him up, provided for him and even those who left him to die. One reviewer noted that this is merely a story of one man's survival, and they alluded to the fact that that was a bad thing. I disagree for it's a wonderful testament to the will to survive, that will in each and every one of us. Just because Wladyslaw may not have done anything overly important with his life doesn't mean that his heartbreaking and uplifting story needn't be told.
`The Pianist' helps the viewer to realize the horrors of the holocaust, the fact that more than what you think you know happened. An example of this is found when a group of Jews are stopped while they are marching to work. They are all lined up and a few men are randomly selected from the group and executed. This is an act I never gave to much thought to. I think for the most part when we think about the holocaust we think about the concentration camps, which were awful in themselves, but even outside those walls these people were treated horribly. Even just the constant mocking and random beatings are a true testament to the atrocity that was that dark time in human history.
As a side note I wanted to mention that, while he's only in a few minutes of the film, Thomas Kretschmann pulls out such a moving performance towards the end of this epic film. As Captain Wilm Hosenfeld, Kretschmann shows so much emotional weight in his few frames as a man who feels pity for Szpilman and his condition and helps him the best he can. There's one scene in particular when both Brody's and Kretschmann's eyes alone speak volumes. Just after they meet Hosenfeld tells Wladyslaw to play something for him on the piano. That scene alone carries the emotional crutch of this film, for in Wladyslaw we see this fear and pain as he begins that slowly transforms to this remarkable release and in Hosenfeld we see this admiration and concern that comes over him.
Other supporting actors that must be recognized are Frank Finlay and Maureen Lipman who play Wladyslaw's parents as well as Ed Stoppard, Julia Rayner and Jessica Kate Meyer who play his siblings Henryk, Regina and Halina respectively. Michal Zebrowski, Ruth Platt, Ronan Vilbert and Emilia Fox, among others, show beautifully that some humans do indeed care for more than just themselves as they play a few of the people that try to help this man survive.
I don't understand how anyone couldn't be touched by this remarkable film.
Movie Review: I only wish that I'd seen this movie sooner!
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm ashamed to admit that it's taken me four years to finally see Roman Polanski's The Pianist. Why? I have absolutely no idea. I guess I thought I wouldn't enjoy it for some strange reason. I will say that I've always considered Chinatown to be Mr. Polanski's best film, but I now have to change that and put The Pianist at the top of the list. This film is literally his masterpiece. Why it didn't beat out Chicago for the best movie of 2003, I don't know. Maybe the Academy members were smoking too much weed that year and didn't realize what film they were actually voting for. Whatever the reason, The Pianist is definitely an Oscar-caliber motion picture, while Chicago is only a decent musical. Of course, I didn't know that at the time. About the only thing I remember from the 2003 Academy Awards is Adrien Brody putting a real lip-lock on the beautiful Halle Berry when he won for Best Actor.
With over three hundred reviews, I think most everybody now knows that The Pianist is a true story based on the personal experiences of Wladyslaw Szpilman, a Polish Jew and concert pianist who lived in Warsaw during World War II and struggled to survive the Holocaust with the aid of both Jewish and non-Jewish lovers of music, especially a German officer who fed him and allowed him to hide in the attic of the German field station as the Russians made their way into Warsaw. That Mr. Szpilman was able to survive the horrors of what transpired in Warsaw is a testament to his perseverance, inner strength, and the kindness of others who risked their lives to hide him.
Mr. Polanski was able to bring to life the cold harshness of war-torn Warsaw and the infamous Ghetto through his brilliant Production Designer, Allan Starski and the Director of Photography, Pawel Edelman. There was one scene in particular when Szpilman climbs over a wall to escape from burning up in a deserted hospital and sees the skeleton remains of hundreds of buildings in the near distance. This was a jaw-dropping moment of pure movie magic. The cruelty of the German soldiers, though not as explicit as it was in Schindler's List, still resonates with the poignant message of what evil man is capable of perpetrating on his fellow human beings. There were scenes in the movie that left you utterly speechless like when the Germans throw an old man in a wheelchair off a third floor balcony because he's unable to stand when they enter his home, or when a German officer orders several Jewish prisoners to lie face down on a street for no apparent reason, and then shoots each of them in the back of the head, having to reload for the last person. That grabbed you in the gut and made you feel a deep sorrow for what was allowed to happen. It's difficult to believe that this was only sixty years ago and that forms of genocide are still taking place in the world of today. Needless to say, The Pianist is an extremely powerful movie with an amazing performance by Adrien Brody, who's in almost every single scene. This man certainly deserved his Academy Award, not to mention that delicious kiss with Halle Berry. I would highly recommend this film to anyone who enjoyed Schindler's List, or simply loves an excellent movie with great performances.
Movie Review: A dreary, yet uplifting, look at the horrors of WWII...
Summary: 5 Stars
Winner of three Academy Awards, and nominated for four others including Best Picture, The Pianist is one of the best films of the decade. Directed by Roman Polanski, The Pianist is a cinematic and artistic masterpiece similar to The Red Violin in that it was mostly overlooked until the Academy offered the necessary publicity to make it a commercial success on video and DVD. Set against the backdrop of an amazingly beautiful soundtrack featuring such classical composers as Chopin and Beethoven, The Pianist ingeniously illustrates the struggle of one man to maintain his dignity and his connection with civilization in the face of a personal hell on earth and some of greatest crimes in human history...
Actor Adrien Brody turns in a brilliant performance as Wladyslaw Szpilman, a piano player of immense genius in 1930s Poland. Szpilman and his family enjoy a life of relative wealth and comfort as part of the cultured and educated European social elite. But that life is turned upside down on September 1, 1939, when the imperial forces of Adolph Hitler's Nazi Germany invade Poland. As a Jew, Szpilman and his family are considered sub-human in the eyes of the German government, and a campaign of terror is quickly instituted against the Jewish population of Warsaw.
Szpilman must live his life the best he can while Warsaw is fenced in with brick walls, and its Jewish citizens are singled out and driven through checkpoints like cattle. At first, the residents of the Warsaw ghetto believe they can wait out the tragedy unfolding before them, but before long, men are assaulting old ladies for meager allotments of food, and citizens are risking death to escape the horrors of the ghetto. Szpilman survives for a while as a restaurant piano player, but he's soon forced into hiding as the ghetto is cleared and the Jews are sent off to concentration camps.
When Szpilman's family is shipped off by train to a death camp, he manages to escape and survive for a time in the abandoned ghetto. But it doesn't take long for the Nazis to find him and force him to work in a German labor camp. Escaping captivity, Szpilman survives in the attic of an abandoned bombed-out building in the Warsaw ghetto. While there, he befriends a German officer who shares his love of music and brings him food rations on a regular basis. As the war comes to a conclusion, the fate of both men remains in the air as the evils of the Nazi regime are displaced by the iron fist of Soviet expansion...
Based on the true story of Wladyslaw Szpilman, one the most accomplished piano players in all of Europe prior to the advance of the Nazi regime, The Pianist is a masterpiece on the big screen. The wondrous music and its compelling beauty stand in stark contrast to the horrors of war. Brody is more than deserving of his Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role, and Ronald Harwood's screenplay is simply masterful. The precision with which this film tells its story, coupled with its intimate portrayal of the human condition, makes The Pianist one of the greatest films of all time and a definite must-see for anyone who harbors a love of artistry and cinema...
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