Roman Polanski is back in true form.

Rating: 10/10 (29 March 2003)

If there was one person who survived the Holocaust and several years later, he/she was willing enough to bring their tale of survival to the big screen. Director Roman Polanski ("Chinatown", "Rosemary's Baby", "Tess") may be one of those brave individuals who might fit the billing and in his latest film - "The Pianist" couldn't have come out in dangerous times like now.
The story is based on the life (and memoir) of the late Wladyslaw Spzilman, who lived with his parents and siblings in Warsaw, Poland in 1939, the year that Nazi Germany started to make their horrifying invasion of their unsuspecting European neighbors. Wladyslaw makes his living as a pianist and is performing for a Polish radio when he's interrupted by bomb blasts. For that point, Spzilman and the other Jews who lived in Europe at the time that German onslaught began, their lives would never be the same again. By telling Spzilman's story here, Polanski finally gets the chance to tell his own story as well.
Adrien Brody, who recently won the Best Actor Oscar for his mesmerizing and unforgettable portrayal of the musician is flat out incredible. Brody plays his character like you wouldn't expect in any Polanski movie yet you're left wondering how does Wladyslaw manage to avoid being caught by the SS or death itself? If I were like the main character here, trying to survive in an occupied city and stay out of sight isn't only impossible, but a true testament of the human heart.
The best scene in "The Pianist" are saved for the second half of the movie. Since Spzilman has been separated from his family and has been living on the lam with some help from unlikely sources. One of them is a sympatheic German captain, Wilm Hosenfeld (Thomas Kretchmann), who is kind enough to let Wladyslaw play the piano and Hosenfeld returns the favor by giving what appeared to be German chocolate and a loaf of bread. While Spzilman isn't only performing in front of the captain, he's also entertaining the other German soldiers to think about besides being chased by the Red Army.
Once I left the theater in Madison where I saw the film, it made me think twice before even looking at a piano again. Plus, "The Pianist" is one of those rare movies that wants the viewer to feel satisfied and look at life itself instead taking it for granted. I can't finish this review by applauding the Academy's decision not only to give Brody an Oscar, but to Polanski (Best Director) and screenwriter Ronald Harwood (Best Screenplay from another material) yet it didn't earn the Best Picture award sad to say. This movie when it comes out on video and DVD should serve as a wise choice for educating students of any level either in history or music.