Not just another Holocaust film...

Rating: Null/10 (24 September 2003)

Based on an autobiography of Polish musician Wladislaw Szpilman, "The Pianist" is not simply a Holocaust movie. True, it is set in the days of World War II and Hitler's Third Reich. More to the point, it is a movie about one ordinary man who managed to survive great hardship and trials because of luck and hope.
This movie is Szpilman's (played with class by Adrian Brody, who won an Oscar for it) story told in a very no-frills way that is riveting by the mere fact it does not give way to going over the top. Instead, the utter depravity of the environment is so part of the film that it is almost a character itself that Szpilman fights to defeat.
Born into a prosperous family of fellow music lovers, Szpilman refuses to believe the whispers that Hitler's forces will soon take over his hometown of Warsaw, Poland. As the film progresses and circumstance grow increasingly grim, Szpilman is transformed from a lighthearted, talented somewhat arrogant young man to a frightened, distrustful fugitive who darts from place to place seeking refuge.
"The Pianist" is not notable for its dramatic action scenes or emotional outbursts. That is its charm. Instead, it is a collection of moments in the survival of one man as he continually lucks out and manages to stay alive. All the while, his music keeps his spirits from completely failing. This is what makes this film so different than the average Holocaust film. It is more than the horror and death, it is about hope.
Eventually, Szpilman's luck seems to run out when he is discovered by a high-ranking SS official, who demands that he play something on the piano. It is a moment of great tension as you wonder if, after all this time not practicing and being in hiding, if Szpilman will be able to play with the precision and skill that he once did. This scene is one of the most powerful in the entire film.
Many Holocaust survivors will tell you that the only thing that kept them alive amid so many trials and terrors was hope. Hope that they would somehow make it. Those without hope, they say, almost surely perished. It would be too simple to say that music kept Szpilman alive through what he endured but it certainly played a large part.
Kudos to Polanski and Brody for bringing such a gem to the world.