Superb Drama

Rating: 9/10 (17 November 2003)

Last night I finally rented "The Pianist" on DVD. It was a superb film and a crude drama on the realities of world war two. Although it has a good pace for a non-action movie, it does tend to get sluggish in parts and you can't help but wonder what actually happens to the rest of the pianist's family (probably killed in Treblinka, but the film never addresses their fate). Also, I wish some more insight could have been given to the Nazi Officer who ultimately became the pianist's savior, as it was truly rare to see such human kindness during a war like this. At parts, it reminded me a bit of "Schindler's List", although this is a more personal story and one of survival. Polanski did a terrific job capturing the atmosphere of Warsaw in Ruins and it's good to see that the Academy finally lifted their "ban" on him. If you want to see a good world war 2 drama, don't hesitate to rent this movie.