Boy, what a film

Rating: Null/10 (16 March 2003)

My brother recomended this film to me, he knows me, he knows when I'll like something. So, I invited a friend, he brought a friend too, this friend told me beforehand, "I'm from the chec republic, I've seen all sorts of films about wwII, will be nothing new to me". Part way through the movie I thought to myself, geez, another depressing flick about a Jewish family caught in the grasp of zee germanz, my friend has obviously seen this. My chec friend got up and walked out. That is about the time that things really started happening. This film alternates between making you think nothing in the world could make this poor fellas life more boring to literally making me jump. Wow. I've seen a lot of films, trust me, I work for netflix, this film does not focus on special effects like saving private ryan, however this is not to say they are bad, you just aren't immersed in full scale battles like S.P.R.. However, this film makes you feel as though you are being hunted, not singled out, but hunted as a race (the jews). At times I thought, why don't the jews ever fight back, and my question is answered, and pleasantly so. Additionally, touches such as a scene showing B-17's flying overhead were gratifying to say the least as I said to myself, I wonder if this pianist saw my grandfathers plane flying overhead (he was a navigator for a b-17 in WW2). The few piano scenes are incredible, this guy could play that thing (gonna have to give my mom more credit for moving that grand piano of hers through all of our rental homes). I have a peculiar habbit of only reading reviews after I've seen a film, however when I write one I try to leave out as much as possible so anyone reading will be able to see the movie and not know that the main character ends up building a time machine and actually saves the world from world war III, ha, just jokin with ya.

Anyways, my reasons that you should see this film. One, suspense, yes, a friggin movie about a piano player has superb suspense (remember my coment about jumping out of my seat, no films do that to me, this one did). Two, the dam piano, I've heard my mom play every sat morning for the 19 years I spent living at home and wow, this guy has some very impresive fingers. Three, I said the special effects weren't suppurb, but that is only because this guy was not on the front lines, action happens, just not like private ryan, there are some very good nail biting action scenes, imagine getting shot at while hanging from a roof, or being an eye witness to an attack from your appartment building on a Nazi controlled hospital only to be retaliated against by a Nazi tank and troops, again, wow. Four, the necessary reminder of what humankind is capable of, low point of Nazis and the high point of countries like the U.S., which in our current time make me reflect on how Iraq treats it's own people like the jews, you speak against saddam you get shot in the street or your tongue cut out. And finally five, few films make me think in so many different directions. Fight club made me think in a few. Schindlers list made me think in several more, but this film, it made me think about so many things at once, it was incredible. I don't know if that was the intent, however I put this film at the top of my list, perhaps one of the best ever. Go see it, it will make you want to write a review to tell others to go see it.