The Pianist Review

Rating: 10/10 (30 January 2011)

It is a film worthy of rivaling the legendary "Chinatown". Director Roman Polanski brings viewers a dark and almost painful to watch reminder of one man's struggle for survival in one of the world's darkest times. Wladyslaw Szpilman (Brody), a Polish Pianist who's love for the piano could not be further defined than in this remarkable tale of courage, misery, and determined survival. Adrian Brody gives a performance that is believable in every account. He doesn't go all dramatic. It is the very essence of his performance that is significant. Just by watching him, you'll think that he is Szpilman, and mastering the Polish accent, playing Chopin on the piano, as well simply showing a sense of confidence in his character. When I watched the film, I saw the very Pianist himself. The tale of this extraordinary musician begins with the end of his career in Polish radio, and it ends with his eventual return to it, as in over the course of 5 years, Spzilman's life is destroyed bit by bit. It all began with a shred of hope, as his family listened and celebrated Britain and France's declaration of war on Nazi Germany, only for it slowly form into the many forms of despair to come. Growing up in a Polish Jewish family, and in the times of the Holocaust, the Szpilman family faced many of the atrocities Jews were subjected to. It all started with the limited financial rights, up to the required cloth of The Star of David, and up to the moments when they moved into poverty infested Warsaw Ghetto. Desperation, humiliation, starvation, death, persecution, and even debt were the many challenges brought on the Szpilman family, losing more and more at the hands of the inhuman Nazi's. The very sight of Jews being forced to dance for their amusement, or even being beaten by their own kind can be very sickening, knowing that these people faced so many atrocities. One scene in particular shocked me, as the Szpilman's witness a brutal murder of Jewish cripple being tossed out his window, thus his own family following him to death's door at the hands of machine gun fire, and sadistic torture. Despite all this, Wladysaw pushed towards the chance for his family's survival, as his last effort to keep them from leaving the Ghetto becomes meaningless, as operation Reinhard came into play, sending many Jews to the camps were their very extermination was its main purpose. All alone, Szpilman survived, living in the Ghetto, as a laborer, secretly working for those who were willing to fight, while hoping for an eventual chance out. His wish is granted as he makes out the wall, and back into the very world that rejected his kind. His difficulties arise as he moves from one location to the next, hiding out wherever he can, avoiding discovery and capture. I have to say this out of a personal respect for Szpilman, he is a tough SOB. He suffered from Jaundice, Malnutrition, and even pure madness as he had to flee from the very war that was taking place right outside his apartment window. Near the film's conclusion, his long urge to play the piano is fulfilled in the presence of Wilm Hosenfeld, a man known today as one of the few members of the Nazi party to willingly hide out and assist Jews. His last words as he gives a farewell to the grateful pianist "God wants us to survive" are both strong and powerful, signifying the good few Nazi's had against the Third Reich's perverted vision of God's work. Szpilman's freedom and desire to find this man lead only to the discovery of his deportation, and thus later informed death in 1952 in imprisonment in a Soviet camp. Our film concludes with Szpilman's return to Polish radio, and a grand finale as he plays the grand Polonaise brillante. It is with the very focus of this 5 minute ending scene that the very beauty of his love for Piano is expressed by the very hands of a dedicated actor, moving his hands at the very rhythm of the music. As the credits have rolled, and we continue to watch Brody master Szpilman's masterpiece of musical art, we come to think this is truly a magnificent movie. The director is excellent, the actor not only portrays him on a professionally dramatic level, but also on a physical level, embodying both the weight loss and as well as the practice required to perfectly portray this damaged character. "The Pianist" can honest to God be called one of the greatest film's I've ever seen, as Mr. Brody brings the revelation of this renowned Pianist to life further and further as the film progresses, and as we viewers witness further and further what this man has gone thru. He lost his family, he went into hiding, and he even risked his life on multiple occasions in various situations. When you look at how much Polanski's dives us into the life of this man, we start to see that this film is more of personal tribute because as a matter of fact Polanski himself has lost his loved ones to the Holocaust. "The Pianist" is more than just a dedication to Szpilman, but it is also a dedication to all the Jews who became victims to the evil that was Adolf Hitler.