00s Movie Review - The Pianist

Director: Roman Polanski
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 150 minutes
Year: 2002
Starring: Adrien Brody, Thomas Kretschmann, Frank Finlay, Maureen Lipman, Emilia Fox, Ed Stoppard, Julia Rayner, Jessica Kate Meyer, Michael Zebrowski, Wanja Mues, Richard Ridings, Nomi Sharron, Anthony Milner, Lucy Skeaping, Roddy Skeaping

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2021 MOVIE CHALLENGE.
WEEK 37: A PALM D’OR WINNING MOVIE
 
Description: A Polish Jewish musician (Adrien Brody) struggles to survive the destruction of the Warsaw ghetto of World War II.

Review: In “The Pianist”, director Roman Polanski describes Wladyslav Szpilman’s hardship during the German occupation of Warsaw in World War II. When the Germans invade Poland and bomb Warsaw, Szpilman is playing a piece of Chopin for the Polish radio. The radio’s building receives a direct hit which abruptly makes Szpilman an unemployed pianist. The timing of the German invasion is particularly unfavorable, as the acquaintance with a beautiful cello player cannot develop into something beautiful due to the violence of the war.
From the moment German soldier march into Warsaw, the Jews’ lives are made increasingly unbearable. It begins with harassment and the obligation to wear an armband with the Star of David, and eventually 500,000 Jews are crammed together in a ghetto. Szpilman becomes a pianist in a diner in the ghetto. His fame drags him through numerous predicaments. When thousands of Jews, including Szpilman and his family, are about to be put on the train to the Treblinka extermination camp, a Jewish policeman saves his ass because he recognizes him. For Szpilman a life of forced labor and hiding then begins.
The arbitrariness and sadism of the Germans are chilling. For example, the Szpilman family witnesses how a family across the street is murdered. And old man, wheelchair and all, is thrown from the balcony. “The Pianist” contains numerous harsh scenes like this. The film also shows similarities with “Schindler’s List”. Director Polanski incorporated his own war experiences. He survived the Krakow Ghetto, like Szpilman, lost his entire family.
One of the most extraordinary scenes in “The Pianist” is, when Szpilman has to play a piece for a high-ranking German officer who discovers him by chance as he tries to open a can of pickles. Szpilman this he will die after it, which makes this scene extra intense.
“The Pianist” is a long film, but it’s worth your time, I promise.

Rating: 4,5/ 5