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Wladyslaw Szpilman was a Polish-Jewish pianist and composer. He studied in some of the best musical schools in Berlin and Warsaw before settling in his hometown, where he was renowned as a celebrated musician and perhaps "the greatest pianist in Poland, maybe the whole world". But all those praises and recognitions become meaningless in the face of abject xenophobia and blind hatred.
The Pianist tackles just that, as we follow Szpilman's struggle to survive in the wake of World War II and the Holocaust. Starting with the occupation of Poland in September 1939, through the forced movement of Polish Jews into the Warsaw Ghetto, and then into full deportation into concentration camps. We see Szpilman, separated from his family, trying to survive mostly thanks to the help of various friends.
This is a film I've seen several times, since it is one of my wife's favorite films. It is a harrowing portrayal of the horrors of the Holocaust, as we see the treatment and conditions that Polish Jews were living through devolving from mockery and disrespect to sheer terror, murder, and genocide. To think of being separated from your family, with no hope or chance of helping them is terrible. Actually, the scene at the train station where the family shares a piece of caramel has got to be my favorite. So simple and yet so heartbreaking.
Mixed with those horrors and terrors, there is certainly a message of hope. After all, Szpilman survives thanks to the kindness of others, but he survives also because he was "the greatest pianist in Poland, maybe the whole world". His story of survival is impressive and, sure, inspirational, but it's also a reminder of the 3 million Polish Jews that didn't survive. Pianists and non-pianists that didn't get the same chance to be the greatest "anything" in Poland, or the whole world.
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THE PIANIST
(2002, Polanski)
(2002, Polanski)
"Majorek, this is the greatest pianist in Poland, maybe the whole world."
Wladyslaw Szpilman was a Polish-Jewish pianist and composer. He studied in some of the best musical schools in Berlin and Warsaw before settling in his hometown, where he was renowned as a celebrated musician and perhaps "the greatest pianist in Poland, maybe the whole world". But all those praises and recognitions become meaningless in the face of abject xenophobia and blind hatred.
The Pianist tackles just that, as we follow Szpilman's struggle to survive in the wake of World War II and the Holocaust. Starting with the occupation of Poland in September 1939, through the forced movement of Polish Jews into the Warsaw Ghetto, and then into full deportation into concentration camps. We see Szpilman, separated from his family, trying to survive mostly thanks to the help of various friends.
This is a film I've seen several times, since it is one of my wife's favorite films. It is a harrowing portrayal of the horrors of the Holocaust, as we see the treatment and conditions that Polish Jews were living through devolving from mockery and disrespect to sheer terror, murder, and genocide. To think of being separated from your family, with no hope or chance of helping them is terrible. Actually, the scene at the train station where the family shares a piece of caramel has got to be my favorite. So simple and yet so heartbreaking.
Mixed with those horrors and terrors, there is certainly a message of hope. After all, Szpilman survives thanks to the kindness of others, but he survives also because he was "the greatest pianist in Poland, maybe the whole world". His story of survival is impressive and, sure, inspirational, but it's also a reminder of the 3 million Polish Jews that didn't survive. Pianists and non-pianists that didn't get the same chance to be the greatest "anything" in Poland, or the whole world.
Grade: