Summary:
A Polish Jewish pianist struggles to survive during the destruction of the Warsaw ghetto during World War II.
My Thoughts:
This year one of my goals for True Myth Media was to work through all of Polanski’s (“Chinatown”, “Rosemary’s Baby”) films, and “The Pianist” is the film that won Polanski his Oscar for best director. If I’m being honest, I think Polanski winning the best director Oscar for this film is sort of like Scorsese winning his Oscar for “The Departed”; both awards feel a bit like consolation Oscars. What do I mean by that? Well, I don’t believe that this is the best film Polanski has put out; in fact, I wouldn’t even put it in his top three. It is a good film, however, and with all the amazing movies that Polanski produced during his career I’m glad that he found a bit of recognition, even if it is for a film that isn’t as polished as some of his others.
Polanski himself said that his was the most personal film he’s ever made, and there’s good reason for that. Polanski was in his preteens when WWII washed over Poland, and he, like Wladyslaw Szpilman, survived the ghettos while their families were less fortunate (Polanski’s mother was killed in Auschwitz). “The Pianist” shows a side of the holocaust that we rarely see, for it’s not from the perspective of the camps which we see most of the film, but from the perspective of one who has escaped the camps and is still forced to live in a prison of isolation and degradation.
“If you prick us, do we not bleed?”
Wladyslaw Szpilman (Adrien Brody, “The Grand Budapest Hotel”) is a Jewish Polish pianist living in Warsaw. After the Germans take control of the city, Szpilman tries to use his position as a renowned pianist to find work papers for himself and his family, but soon he finds that the Germans are far more heartless than he ever could’ve imagined. After his family is spirited away, Szpilman tries to find someone that can help him survive the war.
I think that Polanski’s attention to detail is something that sets him apart from other directors. In my review for “Tess”, Polanski’s adaption of Thomas Hardy’s beautifully tragic novel ‘Tess of d’Urbervilles’, I talked about how Polanski was so attentive to detail that he even included a flat-bottomed cradle which was mentioned in the book. That sort of attentiveness drags the viewer into that world and makes the film leap from screen. In this film, since Polanski was able to draw on his own experiences, the world of Warsaw feels so real you could reach out and touch it. I honestly think the direction in this film is more impressive than the story the film itself tells (I’m not saying that that makes Szpilman’s story is any less impressive, just Polanski’s direction is that good). Even the way Polanski goes about introducing us to the character and the story is great. The first scene shows Szpilman playing in a recording booth while bombs explode outside. The recording engineer tells him that they need to stop recording, but Szpilman keeps playing, trying to make it to the end of the piece until finally a bomb drops so close to the studio that it destroys the recording equipment. That opening scene perfectly showcases Szpilman’s optimistic, almost naïve outlook on the war, but it also shows his determination and stubbornness to stay where he is despite the German intrusion. All of those qualities showcased in the first scene play into choices he makes which, eventually, put him and his family in danger.
Warsaw itself becomes a character and a symbol. It becomes a symbol of the degradation of the Jewish people during the Second World War. It also becomes the most dynamic character; it suffers and falls apart just like the Jews forced into its ghettos. I think the way in which Polanski shows this gradual sinking into despair mirrored by Szpilman’s slow descent into sickness is marvelous; both storylines seem to compliment each other in a way that helps the other one stand on firmer ground. I also like the way that Polanski shows this gradual degradation primarily from the perspective of Szpilman himself. Since Szpilman spends most of the second half of this film locked in apartments, trying to avoid detection, his perspective is severely limited. We see battles and raids from a window, almost all of it from a single, limited perspective. It helps to convey the sense of isolation that Szpilman must’ve felt; he didn’t know what had happened to his family, nor did he have any news of what was going on in the outside world, he knew only what he could see what was happening on the streets below. That transformation of Warsaw is absolutely haunting, for we see it as it was before the destruction came through, and watch as it deteriorates through the eyes of someone whom loved it most.
Adrien Brody won his Oscar for his portrayal of Szpilman, and I think that Oscar was absolutely deserved. His transformation over the course of the film is what makes his performance memorable; when we first meet Szpilman, he’s an optimistic, bright-eyed man who feels as if he’s got the whole world in front of him, but as the story goes on, we watch as that light begins to fade from his eyes. The brilliance of this performance is that, while Szpilman is reduced to living in ruins and surviving on scraps, he never ever looses sense of his own dignity.
As a whole, I think the story told in this movie is wonderful, and since it is based on a true story, it’s hard to criticize it too much for structure, but at the same time, I do feel that this movie starts to drag in the second act. Most of the truly disturbing stuff happens in the first half of this film. The parts where Szpilman is separated from his family, the purging of the ghetto, the moving to concentration camps… all of that stuff happens within the first hour and fifteen minutes, and the last hour of this movie is mostly focused on Szpilman trying to stay quiet in apartments, trying to figure out what’s gong on outside, and struggling to get over sickness. By no means does the story ever get boring- it’s still fascinating, but the horrors of the first half of this movie are far more memorable than those in the second half.
Verdict:
I think this is a very good movie, and certain scenes of it are undeniably great. I’m glad Polanski won an Oscar because I believe he has honestly made a huge stamp on cinema, and while I don’t think this is his best work, I do think that the personal experiences Polanski brought to this story really helped to bring this film to life in a vivid way few World War II movies are able to realize.
Review Written By: