non-heroism

Rating: 7/10 (19 September 2016)

It's 1939 Warsaw. Wladyslaw Szpilman (Adrien Brody) is a Jew and a pianist on the radio. He falls for Polish girl Dorota. The Germans invade and the Szpilman family expects to live through another war. However, their lives slowly deteriorate as government decrees force them into the Jewish ghetto. Itzak Heller tries to recruit Wlad and his brother Henryk into the Jewish police but they refuse. As his family is put on trains, Wlad is pulled out by Itzak. Wlad joins the resistance and smuggles in material. He sneaks out and finds friends who help to hide him. He witnesses the Germans battling their way into the ghetto from his hiding place. He finds help from Dorota who is now married and pregnant. From his hiding place, he witnesses the start of the Warsaw uprising.
Roman Polanski delivers a depiction of a survivor of the Holocaust. He is more or less passive for too long until pushed. He survives due to kindness of others. He does not fight not due some moral stand but rather a lack of proactive heroism. It's a rather disengaging trait although I can see Polanski's point of view. The other annoying aspect is his surprise and constant reaction to the shocking inhumanity. None of this makes him less realistic. In many ways, he's a very human character and flawed not in any evil ways. It doesn't make him an easy, or appealing character. The world is well constructed. The most compelling scene is actually when the family is stuck waiting out in the sun for the train. The train has been done every time but to wait in a holding pen is more unusual. This is a great Holocaust movie but the leading character is unusually not so appealing.