The Pianist
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Movie Reviews of The Pianist
Movie Review: A Beautiful, Powerful Movie
Summary: 5 Stars
Seeing the name Roman Polanski has become quite common nowadays, but that attention is focused more on his private life than the films he has directed over the years. The Pianist is one of his most celebrated films, winning 3 Academy Awards including one for Polanski as Best Director. It also won the Palme d'or at the Cannes Film Festival in 2002. The Pianist is a Holocaust film, based on the autobiography of pianist Wladyslaw Szpilman. Roman Polanski survived the Holocaust and this was obviously a personal project for him; I think his personal history is (for once) relevant to the film, because his background makes him very aware of the Holocaust and the horrors that accompanied it.
The film begins in Warsaw, 1939 as Great Britain declares war on Nazi Germany. Wladyslaw "Wladek" Szpilman, a highly lauded pianist and his Jewish family see their happy existence crumble around them, as Germany's invasion of Poland is well under way.. They're required to wear armbands identifying themselves as Jews and soon are evacuated from Warsaw into a Jewish district.
There's not much more that needs to be said about the plot. Unlike many Holocaust movies, The Pianist gives a very in-depth look at the day-to-day life of Jews in the Jewish ghettos. What makes this so impactful is the way Polanski lets the story unfold. We know where the story is going, while Szpilman and his family do not...Yet, we're just as shocked as they are when things go from bad to worse. Don't think from what I've said that The Pianist is just another history lesson...There's a deeply human, intriguing story that draws you in and can be quite suspenseful.
The film itself is incredibly well-made and I applaud Polanski for re-visiting the unspeakable horrors that he lived through. There are scenes that are shockingly horrifying and they are filmed with an unflinching honesty. Polanski almost always keeps his camera detached from the action, making the audience feel like a helpless onlooker. In one of the film's most devastating scenes, Wladek is separated from his family as they're put on a train to what will be certain death. It's not only fantastic on a cinematic level, but an emotional one as well.
Adrian Brody won the Best Actor Academy Award for his performance as Wladek and he really did deserve it. He gives a believable, low-key performance completely without ego or bravado. Its perfection and power come from how human it is and his ability to never seem like he's acting. Brody IS Wladek Szpilman in this film.
Movies don't come more powerful than this film. It's a beautiful, heart-breaking, suspenseful film with one of the decade's greatest performances and one of the world's greatest directors.
There's a scene towards the end that is one of the most profound and powerful in the entire film...And it's just a man playing piano. It's a perfect example of how thoroughly Brody portrays Wladek, but also a testament to what an amazing director Polanski is. The Pianist is one of the greatest films ever made about the Holocaust, but it's also one of the greatest films ever made. It's an absolute triumph that shouldn't be missed.
GRADE: A
Movie Review: Beautifully captures the resilience of the human spirit
Summary: 5 Stars
I've watched "The Pianist" twice since it's 2002 release, and felt compelled to write a review after watching it tonight. This is a well-directed Holocaust movie by Roman Polanski, and the stellar acting by Adrien Brody [who deservedly won an Oscar for his role] makes "The Pianist" a truly memorable viewing experience.
The story is based on the real-life experiences of Jewish pianist Wladyslaw Szpilman [played by Adrien Brody] during the Nazi occupation of Warsaw in WW II. The movie follows him from his piano playing days at Polish Radio, through the restrictions imposed upon the Jews by the Nazis, the move by Szpilman and his family to the Warsaw ghetto,how he is saved from deportation [whilst the rest of his family gets deported to Treblinka, an extermination camp], his role in the Jewish resistance movement, and finally his struggles in hiding on the Aryan side of Warsaw till war's end.
The brutality of the Nazis is very effectively portrayed in this movie without being over-the-top - scenes of Nazi violence against the Jews are usually portrayed in brief but potent scenes, leaving an indelible mark in the viewer's memory. One particular scene still haunts me - the Nazis have selected a group of Jews for deportation [including four members of Szpilman's family] and a young woman innocently asks the SS officer in charge where they're being taken. His response is a shot to her head - just like that, and her only crime was to speak up. There are many poignant scenes that are heartrending in their portrayal of human suffering - a grieving young mother who is beside herself as she smothered her own child to death to prevent the baby's cries from being heard, bodies of Nazi victims including young children, and also one particularly disturbing scene where an old man in a wheelchair is picked up by the Nazis [for being unable to stand up when the Nazis stomp into his family dinner] and thrown off the balcony. Though the scenes may appear random, the viewer is well aware that there was nothing random about the Nazis' intent - that of decimating the Jews.
Adrien Brody as the pianist Szpilman effectively portrays a man who is tortured by his circumstances, yet bears all his suffering in silence - witnessing the atrocities around him, being separated from his family and learning of their tragic fates later, and being forced to endure the agony of incessant hunger whilst trying to stay alive. His indomitable spirit shines through in many scenes, especially the scene where he is asked by a German officer to play the piano - even in the midst of great hunger, and with fingers gnarled by sickness and starvation, Szpilman is able to play an achingly haunting piece that would have done a concert pianist proud.
"The Pianist" is definitely a memorable Holocaust film - it even shows that not all Germans were monsters as exemplified by the humane German officer who helped Spzilman when he was in hiding. Though the movie evokes the horrors of the time it also captures the resilience of the human spirit under the most harrowing circumstances.
Movie Review: History lesson
Summary: 5 Stars
This movie is excellent. It is heartbreaking to see a people enduring genocide. As I was watching it, I suddenly felt no pity for the jews being slaughtered. They gave up their guns in 1938, and they did not try to fight back against the nazis. They laid down several times in the movie like sheep to the slaughter. I began to lose all respect for them, because they did not care enough to fight for their freedom, or even their lives. I was heartened by the Warsaw Ghetto uprising scenes. People willing to die as free men, and not as slaves.
Remember, every country which has complete gun control ends up like this. History is replete with examples of people who give up their guns and are slaughtered by the majority. Also, most people don't even know what the word "Nazi" stands for. The word "Nazi" is an abbreviated translation of "National Socialist German Worker's Party". Don't forget that Socialists are murderers and will kill you.
Movie Review: Adrian Brody: Total Immersion
Summary: 5 Stars
This is not a movie to watch if you want mindless entertainment. It is a gut-wrenching depiction of the most horrible atrocities in human history. Adrian Brody totally immerses himself in the title role of a Polish pianist who somehow managed to survive,against overwhelming odds, the horrors of the Holocaust. If this story doesn't put your problems in perspective,nothing will.
Wanting to turn away from the horrific views of all this brutality, I found myself staring in disbelief at the brutality of the Nazi soldiers "acting under orders." These willful acts of violence display humanity at its absolute worse. Yet, the determination of this young pianist to survive shows the inner strength of the human spirit to overcome. Hopefully none of us will ever be pushed to such limits but this movie makes us aware of the inner strength that lies within us.
Movie Review: True to life: THE PIANIST
Summary: 5 Stars
This film is about the characters survival in tough times, and is told in such a way that it really has a realistic element, captured on film. In other words we see exactly what the character had to go through in order to survive, and it truly is an amazing story. Similar to Polanski's own story, of survival in Poland during the Nazi Occupation during World War II. Also, noteworthy is the cinematic elements used to tell the story, such as expressive, but realistic use of camera, lighting, color and sound. Not to mention the acting, which is obviously top-notch.