The Pianist Review- By Michael Carlisle

Title:The Pianist
Year: 2002
Director: Roman Polanski
Country: US
Language: English

Roman Polanski was born into a Polish Jewish family living in Paris, France on August 18, 1933. In 1936 the Polanski family moved back to Krakow, Poland but unfortunately would eventually experience the horrors of the German Occupation. Roman would be expelled from school due to the Nazi racial purity laws, then forced into the Krakow Ghetto and spend the remainder of his childhood fleeing from German soldiers. Thus The Pianist is labor of love; it is important to Roman that the picture be as honest as possible.

Wladyslaw Szpilman is a brilliant pianist, a Polish Jew, who witnesses the restrictions Nazis place on Jews in the Polish capital. As his family is rounded up to be shipped off to the Nazi labor camps, he escapes deportation and eludes capture by living in the ruins of Warsaw.

The Pianist is based on a true story, and Director Roman Polanski does his best to conform to the original story as possible. The film is intelligent, but does not try to give a clear reasoning for why the Holocaust was allowed to happen. It is a picture about survival, yet it does not try to be a thriller nor does it give into suspense or become overly sentimental. Polanski emphasizes the great amount of  skill and luck one must have had in the Holocaust, rather than making a typical Hollywood picture about moral choice. Polanski knew that Jews trapped within a Nazi system removed the possibility of moral choice.

Cinematographer Ronald Harwood shoots the movie quite well. Rich dark browns with an edge of sepia- showing the moody color of history. Adrien Brody deserved his Oscar for his work. In order to connect with the feeling of loss required to play the role he got rid of his apartment, sold his car, and didn't watch television. It's not much, but at least he tried to method act. Szpilman is an effective character; not a fighter nor a hero- rather just a vulnerable man in a terrible situation.

In conclusion, though Polanski has made many great films throughout his long career, The Pianist is his greatest. It is incredibly detailed, making the audience feel like they are actually in WWII Poland. It should have won "Best Picture" in that year's Academy Awards and I'm disappointed that it didn't. Praise it! 5/5