the sad sweetness of the sound of persecution.

Rating: 7/10 (3 July 2004)

More than a masterpiece on the poetry of wartime, Roman Polanski uses the eyes of an artist in his tribute to the suffering of Jews in Warsaw. Less concrete than that of a soldier, yet more resistant, the experience of Wvadyslav Szpilman expresses his negligence of the gravity of the wartime situation to an unfortunate sudden change of fate.
Polanski's picture of WW2 Warsaw is a very deep one, revealing details which characterized the Jewish suffering with an outstanding touche of proximity; a fight over a pan of soup which ends with a man licking up spilt porridge on the ground, a woman gone mad after the disappearance of her husband, another one having herself caused her baby to suffocate as she tried to conceal its cries...
This movie goes beyond the details of the ongoing of the war itself to reveal the sad and frustrating consequences on its victims. How can Wadek survive without his family, without food but even more with his ever growing urge to satisfy his wish to play a piano. He follows the sound of playing as often as he is lucky to. In this a perfect repertoire is mounted, involving Beethoven, Bach, etc.
Wadek's pure and sympathetic nature seems to call for tolerance in wartime. Funny and creative, he could eventually be considered a spectator to these events. One could attribute the luck he has and the intermittent support he receives to some providence. Yet the experience is real and his final contribution to building a new nation summarizes the lessons to be drawn.