One of the best war movies ever made

Rating: Null/10 (1 December 2003)

WARNING: SPOILERS
Roman Polanski's The Pianist centers around a Jewish pianist, Wladyslaw Szpilman, who lives in Warsaw around the time of World War II. At this time, the atmosphere is just beginning to get overtly hostile towards Jews. Anti-Jewish laws are being passed, such as the restriction of basic liberties, and the law requiring Jews to wear arm bands is just coming into effect. The Pianist is basically the story about the hero, Szpilman, trying to survive the Nazis, but Szpilman is no hero in the traditional sense of the word. Szpilman is played by Adrien Brody, and Thomas Kretschmann plays a sympathetic Nazi officer, Captain Wilm Hosenfeld. A theme in the movie that stood out to me was the solace that Szpilman found in music, and especially that of the piano.
Szpilman doesn't actively oppose the Nazis or even do anything to hinder their plans, as does Oskar Schindler in Schindler's List. Szpilman relies almost completely on the help of others that are sympathetic to his cause. He hides from the Nazis when possible, and runs when not, and is basically just trying to survive. There are almost no bright colors in The Pianist, and the earth tones are only briefly pierced by an occasional flash of red in the background, which serves to remind us of the constant danger that Szpilman is facing.
There are several scenes in the movie during which Szpilman hears, plays or pretends to play the piano. During these brief periods he retreats into a shell made of the music, and for a while at least, he has escaped. Every time this happens a contented look comes across Szpilman's face as his fingers lovingly glide over the piano keys. The most memorable such scene comes when Szpilman is discovered by Captain Hosenfeld and the officer asks Szpilman what he used to be. Szpilman replies `A Pianist', and Hosenfeld asks Szpilman to play the piano. Szpilman fingers slowly regain their strength as he plays, and we see the light form an aura like effect around his head. He again assumes his contented expression, and seems lost in another world.
The theme of music being a solace is brought out strongly in the movie, but by no means detracts from the story and the struggle for survival that Wladyslaw Szpilman is faced with. The Pianist is a story about an individual's struggle to survive the Nazi occupation of Warsaw, and ranks amongst some of the best war movies ever made.