Shock appeal?

Rating: 10/10 (30 March 2003)

The Pianist is not a movie made for entertainment. It's either more or less than that and only the viewer can decide. You have to ask yourself sometimes if the main reason films about the holocaust are so popular is because of shock appeal. If a movie depicts these terrifying events well, does that make it a good movie? The Pianist has many scenes showing the Nazi's brutality that feel almost voyeuristic. Some scenes show Adrien Brody's character looking out the window at these terrible things and you feel as if you're looking out a window, too.
I hope shock appeal isn't the reason this film is liked so much, though. Because this is an amazing story about the will to survive. Music is the character's passion,and throughout his struggles he can only fantasize about playing piano. There is one scene near the end in which he finally gets the opportunity. What follows is a touching moment that transitions from rusty skills warming up to an intense and passionate display of artistic talent. In this moment there is no longer a war going on, no longer the agony of hunger or memories of lost loved ones, just beautiful music. His reputation as a musician and his desire to go on to play again is essentially what keeps him alive. And who says art isn't important?
Adrien Brody is very good in this. Well obviously he is, he just won the Best Actor Oscar. I think he can be compared to Tom Hanks in Cast Away- even in scenes of silence there's just something about the actor's movements and expressions that keeps you engaged.
There's another scene near the end that defines the entire performance, the entire movie for me: After all the trouble Brody went through trying to survive, he is almost killed by the people who would save him. He is wearing a coat that a German officer had given him earlier, and when Russian troops spotted Brody they thought he was German. They shot at him and almost killed him, but they finally found out he was Polish. An officer asks him, "Why the f-cking coat?" Brody, with his hands still in the air, a terrified look on his face, almost crying, replies: "I'm cold." That did it for me.
The Pianist is certainly a shocking and even depressing film, but like most movies that aspire to provoke thoughts and emotions, the audience takes out of it what they bring in to it. Surely Szpiellman wasn't just a lucky bastard who survived in times of inhumane brutality. It was through the kindness and compassion of others who helped him, if only because they found themselves inexplicably moved by his music.
My rating: 10/10