Masterpiece with one flaw

Rating: 8/10 (10 May 2009)

"The pianist" by Roman Polanski is a masterpiece that graphically depicts the horror of the Nazi time in occupied countries, especially, of course, for Jews, and gives you a better, for more vivid, idea of how it must have felt for the affected people in those days, more so than any history book. It does so without relishing in unnecessary gore - don't get me wrong, the scenes depicted in the film are harrowing enough, but there are certainly much more graphical accounts of the holocaust and you never feel that the film "indulges" in those pictures for the sake of it. But you get a real sense for how, little by little, the Nazi's pulled the rug under the feet of the Jews, making life a bit more difficult for them every day to the bitter end.
There are many other good things to say about the film, which are already said so I don't want to repeat this any more. My only problem with this film is like with some other biographies or epic narrative that stretch a period of time, especially if centred around one characters is that there is a certain lack of interpersonal drama here. Szpilman, the main protagonist is the cornerstone of the film but we get to know very little about anyone else in the movie and therefore, we feel that we don't even get to know Szpilman really well, for there is no better way of characterising a human being than through his interaction with others. He doesn't even seem to be close to anyone. He has some family and some admirers but always seems a bit aloof. To the people who save his life, he expresses gratitude but rarely concern, personal interest or asks if he could help.
Apart from that, it is a great movie that deserves much of the applause it gets.