emotionally confronting

Rating: Null/10 (23 September 2003)

We are learning about the Holocaust in English at school and the various interpretations or i should say attempts at representing the inhumane events during the Holocaust. I have to say that The Pianist is a great representation of the Holocaust, one that challenges the functions of history and memory. Polanski wasn't afraid to exemplify the true horror of the Holocaust, much to the audience's stricken grief, but an important aspect was the fact that he also shedded light on the good Germans during WWII. It is a very confronting film and I can't bear to watch it twice. I think its one of those 'watch-only-once' movies. I think Polanski was successful in trying to capture the 'true' emotions of the Jews, also reinforcing the retaliation in the ghettoes, stressing the idea that Jews were not passive and helpless during this time. Although the Holocaust is ultimately un-representable, the director portrays it very well in a socialist point of view.