Large-scale epic on an intimate scale

Rating: 8/10 (3 January 2003)

Roman Polanski's THE PIANIST has all the hallmarks of serious, conservative storytelling that wins public support (and Oscars), and it's clearly a labor of love. Based on the true-life story of a Polish Jew who survived in Germany during WWII, it's alternatingly harrowing and complex,
The early scenes will seem familiar to anyone informed about the Holocaust -- perhaps too much so. It's very much a part of Wladislaw Szpilman's story, but countless other dramas and documentaries have covered this material so thoroughly that its impact may be lost on some moviegoers. This certainly happened with me.
Szpilman's real story begins after his family has been packed onto a one-way train to Treblinka. Without resources in a half- abandoned city, he must depend on the decency of several good- hearted Germans who put their lives behind their conscience to save his life and many others'. The story is presented in a series of nearly unforgettable scenes -- some intimate, others covering breathtaking landscapes of increasing desolation and destruction. Polanski excels in showing the drama from Szpilman's point-of- view, drawing the audience into a journey that brings him in contact with Jewish collaborators, one or two sympathetic soldiers, a throng of doomed Poles (which includes his own family), and some monstrously cruel men whose summary judgment can mean life or death.
Like Schindler's List, THE PIANIST has English dialog (with British accents) for the Jews and German dialog for the army -- a choice which occasionally undercuts the film's spell of realism. Also lost is the musical nature of the Jewish tongue, which would have enriched the film enormously.
But perhaps this small critique won't be meaningful to many audiences. This dramatization of Szpilman's memoir becomes increasingly arresting and original as it progresses, and its attention to detail (even including occasional piano-playing mistakes to underline this survivor's human frailty) helps boost THE PIANIST far, far above the standard. it's that rare Holocaust drama that's not about the Holocaust at all.