Jarring Holocaust Piece of a Man's Determined Survival

Rating: 8/10 (15 June 2003)

This was improbably my first Polanski, not surprisingly my first Brody, but certainly not my first World War Two/Holocaust picture. I have to admit I knew little going 'in' to this except holding foolish thoughts like 'how many more times are they going to make a movie on this topic?'

Polanski blows that preconception apart. He provides a startlingly fresh approach to the genre which includes _Schindler's List_ and to a lesser extent, _Saving Private Ryan_. Like 'SPR' _The Pianist_ uses technically proficient shots of horrific violence. Unlike 'SPR' these sequences are sporadic and always come like a jarring physical blow. Much like some of the more successful practitioners of some forms of metal and punk music, you can come off being far more brutal and shocking if you're not so thick with the dissonance.
Yet much of _The Pianist_ power comes in the form of traumatic psychological violence. Like _Schindler's List_, this is the story of Jewish survival at all costs during the Nazi Pogrom. However unlike 'SL', this is not the epic broad-stroke of an entire population's suffering but largely the tale of a single man and his efforts to stay alive. Not to say that either this or 'SL' is significantly better than the other, they are to disparate in their approach to be fairly judged tete a tete. But _The Pianist_ accomplishes a few things 'SL' couldn't by narrowing its scope somewhat. Not that Polanski completely throws away the horrible effects such atrocities had on a wide range of people. We learn that it takes the fellowship of his people, the kindess of the underground German resistance, and a few other more unlikely supporters not to mention no small amount of sheer luck for Mr. Szpilman to survive.
Brody is terrific as Szpilman logging more screen time than just about everyone else combined. I hope to see him again as soon as possible. Now to go see more Polanski immediately.