The Pianist (2002) by Noelle Henderson

Title/Year: The Pianist, 2002

Director/Birth Country/Year Born: Roman Polanski, France, b. 1933

Budget: $35,000,000 (estimated)

Gross: $120,072,577 (worldwide)

Synopsis: Wladyslaw Szpilman (Adrien Brody) is a famous Polish pianist, who is forced to fight for his survival after the Nazis overtook Warsaw during WWII.  After he is separated from his family, he escapes the labor camp and is left to his own devices to hide from the Germans, until the end of the war.     

Political/Social Commentary: The film portrays the Jews as victims to the Nazis, and tells the story from their point of view.  The Jews’ treatment by the Nazis is not minimized in any way, and the film is sure to expose the ruthless and barbaric nature of the Nazis during WWII.  However at one point during the movie, there is a German officer represented as humane when he helped Szpilman survive until the end of the war.  This to me was commentary that although Nazis did horrific things, there were ones that were still human and didn’t want to have to follow through with their orders.  

Narrative and Visual Keywords: WWII, Nazis, Jews, The Holocaust, poverty, filth, fear, desperation, Poland, Germany, snow, winter, violence, murder, genocide, ghettos, soldiers, death, destruction, separation, grief, hopelessness, labor camps, concentration camps, starvation, inhumane, piano, musician, impending doom, the Star of David, suffering, anxiety, hiding, guns, blood, ruthless, barbaric, panic, uncertainty, the wall, and pain. 

Camera/Lighting/Editing Technique: Fade ins and outs to show time has passed, cool lighting making the picture have a blue/gray tint, POV shots, extreme wide shots showing him as a lone survivor, establishing shots showing destruction, close ups on facial expressions, close ups on piano playing, slow zooms and pans, and bird’s eye views looking down in the streets.

Main Character/Arc: Szpilman begins as optimistic and in complete denial about the war, until farther into the first act he sees Jews being ruthlessly murdered and caged like animals.  After he is separated from his family, he is hit by the harsh reality of the war and his very low chances of survival.  Throughout the film he becomes gradually more hopeless, and eventually turns into a hollow man operating solely in search of food and shelter.  By the end after coming full circle, he smiles for the first time and begins to cry with tears of both happiness and sorrow.  At this point he seems to begin to become a person again, but his emptiness is still very apparent.   

Notable Collaboration: The screenplay is an adaptation of Wladyslaw Szpilman’s memoir, Death of a City.  Polanski wanted the movie to be as realistic as possible, so each scene that Brody was shown playing the piano is voiced over by recordings performed by Polish classical pianist Janusz Olejniczak. 

Historical Relevance/Recognition: The film won over a dozen Academy Awards and Cesar Awards combined, including the Academy Awards for Best Actor (Adrien Brody) and Roman Polanski for Best Director.  Polanski has a deep connection with the film because he escaped from the Krakow Ghetto when he was a child after his mother was killed.  

Random Fact, Etc: Adrien Brody lost 31 pounds for his role, making him only 130 pounds.  He also got rid of his apartment, car, and didn’t watch TV, so he could better connect with his character through feeling loss.  

P.O.V.

The story is seen from Wladyslaw Szpilman’s point of view, which can be determined through the strong use of P.O.V. shots and because every scene is directly related to him.  The film portrays the Nazis as ruthless murders and the Jews as innocent victims, which naturally allows the audience to take the Jews’ side.  In this situation the Germans are “The Other”, and like in most films the audience sees them as the enemy.  With the exception of one instance, every time there were German soldiers and Jews in the same scene, the soldiers were seen torturing them in some way.  My experience during the movie, was that I felt instant disgust towards the soldiers after they were introduced.  I imagine I would also feel the same disgust if I hadn’t had any prior knowledge about The Holocaust, because the film evoked so much compassion from me through its sounds and images. 

Identity

Szpilman identifies with being Jewish and Polish, but perhaps most deeply with being a pianist.  There is a scene where a German soldier finds him hiding in an abandoned building and the soldier asks him several questions.  Szpilman stands there in silence until he finally says, “I am... I was a pianist.”  This scene is really moving not only because it is the first time a German soldier shows that he has a soul, but also because Szpilman is finally reunited with the piano.  It is apparent while he is playing, that he finally feels some sort of relief after years of pain and suffering.  The piano acts as an outlet for all of his suppressed emotions, and as something that is familiar to him, similar to an old friend from before the invasion.  The movie both begins and ends with him playing the piano, and in both instances he looks the most at peace than at any other point throughout the film.  

Morality

There is very little morality represented in the film, at least when involving the German soldiers.  As previously mentioned, one soldier helps Szpilman hide, which is nothing like what is shown earlier on throughout the film.  The soldier appears to have morals and humanity left within him, and shows that perhaps he doesn’t want to be in the position he is, but is left no choice just like the Jews.  Although he is on the side that is doing all of the evil, he may just be trying to survive like the other side, and do what he can to try to make up for what he has had to do.  This was a refreshing idea to me, because at first I thought that every soldier was evil and got pleasure out of killing innocent people. 

An example that shows morality on the Jewish side, is when Szpilman and his brother turn down the offer of being Jewish soldiers.  Although this would “save” them, they decide they would rather take their chances than participate in the extermination of their people.  This is a very unselfish choice on their part, and says a lot about their strength of character and morals.  

Memory

The movie is definitely memorializing the victims of the Holocaust, and specifically the life of Wladyslaw Szpilman surviving all that he did and being such a talented musician.  Based off of my historical knowledge about WWII, the movie appeared very accurate as far as details such as historical dates, clothing, uniforms, living conditions, practical scenarios, etc. I’m sure not everything was completely accurate, but I know Polanski talked about wanting the movie to be as realistic as possible, and I think he did a great job.  

I don’t feel that there was anything nostalgic about the film, unless of course the viewer is a Nazi and/or was a Nazi soldier who sickly takes pride in the Germans’ part of WWII.  I imagine that for Jewish people and those that are survivors, this movie stirs up a lot of difficult emotions.  However if I were Jewish, I would also be happy to see how strong my people are represented in the film.  

Sources: 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0253474/ 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pianist_(2002_film)#Awards_and_nominations 

http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9E0DE1DA113CF934A15751C1A9649C8B63