The Pianist critical analysis

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The Pianist is a 2002 film based on war biographical drama. Roman Polanski directed the production of this film. The movie was a masterpiece that won several awards. It was based on the autobiographical book “The Pianist” written by the pianist and composer Wladyslaw Szpilman. The director coalesced several scenes that allured the audience into the timeline of the Holocaust. As a result, the movie was shot in several countries that participated in the war namely; France, Poland, the UK, and Germany creating the intended pictures. The scenes display the horrific nature of the war, which had deleterious outcomes on the survivors. The movie received global critical acclaim, many of the persons praising the director and lauding Brody’s performance as well as Harwood’s screenplay. This film won several awards, such as the best director, best-adapted screenplay, and best actor at the 75th academy awards. It is also included in the BBC’s Greatest films list (Prince, 2015).

The story is based on the autobiography of Szpilman. He was playing his piano live on the radio in Warsaw when the radio station was bombed by the Nazi Germans. The story focuses on the tremor and survival instincts of the main protagonist. At the time of the war, the German troops had advanced their war plans. Hitler was determined to eradicate the Jews from the face of the earth, and they were the primary victims of the war that lasted till 1945. After the attack on the radio station, Szpilman rushed home thrilled that Britain and France had declared war on Germany. He hoped that the war would last only briefly. Warsaw became entangled in the war between the Germans and the Soviet armies. Many lives were lost on both fronts. The Jews were the most affected in this war. They were killed, raped, experimented upon, and displaced from their homes. For a few months, Warsaw became part of the Nazi-controlled government.

Szpilman and his family were displaced from their home into the isolated Warsaw Ghetto. The conditions here were worse for everyone due to the scarcity of food and proper sanitation. There were heaps and heaps of dead bodies scattered everywhere. The Szpilmans witnessed the murder of an entire family. In August 1942, the Szpilmans are relocated to the Treblinka camp as part of Operation Reinhard. One of his friends in the Jewish Ghetto Police recognized him and separated him from his family. Things take a run of twisted events that see him learn how to survive the war. It was during this time that he learns of an upcoming Jewish revolt. Szpilman serves as an aide to the revolutionists by smuggling in weapons to them. During this mission, he narrowly escapes being noticed and captured by a suspicious guard. A non-Jewish sympathizer Bogucki and his wife facilitate his escape. Since he could not return to the camp, he becomes a passive participant in the revolt. He watches as the war manifests and his comrades are humbled by the Germans in a crushing defeat. A neighbor discovers that there is an intruder amongst them, which forced him to flee his ‘paradise’. He finds himself in a new hideout with a piano. However, his health worsens at this moment as symptoms of jaundice begin to slowly torment him but to avoid capture, he chooses to remain silent amidst the pain.

In August 1944, the Home Army attacks a German building a few blocks from Szpilman’s hideout. The raid becomes a threat to his safety, and therefore, once more, he is forced to flee. The raid flattens Warsaw leaving the victim in pursuit of food and proper shelter. On several occasions, he drinks dirty water to quench his thirst. Szpilman slowly adapts to the way of the early man in search of food. His hunting and gathering lead him to a house where he finds a can of pickled cucumbers. Unfortunately, while he tries to open the can, Szpilman is noticed by Wilm Hosenfeld, who identifies him as a pianist. The piano saved his life. Hosenfeld leads him to a grand piano and requests him to play it. Szpilman plays Chopin’s “Ballade in G minor” which thrills Hosenfeld and, as a result, chooses to supply him food. Their relationship would last a few months.

In January 1945, the Germans are losing the war and begin retreating. Hosenfeld and Szpilman meet for the last time, and Hosenfeld promises to listen to his music on the polish radio when the war is over. The two had become close, and Hosenfeld gives him his coat to keep warm. However, this would not come to pass since the Germans are defeated, and Hosenfeld is captured. Hosenfeld meets a friend of Szpilman, a violinist, who he begs to ask Szpilman to return the favor. Unfortunately, the happy ending is only for Szpilman while his friend dies while in Soviet captivity.

The story is a parallel experience of the director Roman Polanski. This partly elaborates why he chose to direct the film and also its success. The screenplay deviates from the hero narrative to survivor instincts. It is a film whose creativity was shaped by trauma. The film is practically a one-person story set within their surroundings. The protagonist experiences painful horrors of traumatic isolation, loss, suffering, and ultimate survival. Music is one of the themes of the film. Szpilman is a classical pianist. His piano skills convinced Hosenfeld to spare his life. Music is a powerful force capable of connecting people even during dark moments. The director was selective and used parallelism at the start and end of the narrative to show the significance of music (Stein, 2004).

The movie is set up in the war-torn area of Warsaw amidst the onset of the holocaustic experience. The characters wear old costumes that were typical at the time of war. The director chose to use different tones and moods, ranging from seriousness, dramatic, suspenseful, disturbing to moving ones. Tragedy and PTSD were predominant aftermaths of persons who made it through World War 2. All these victims of the war give stories about how the war affected their mental health (Waterhouse-Watson & Brown, 2015). Szpilman is steadfast to make it through the war despite the pain he went through. His will to survive was greatly tested when he managed to be the sole survivor in the abandoned hospital. At the Jewish Ghetto, the Szpilmans were starving, yet he refused to take up the opportunity to beat up fellow Jews for a few pennies and food. He chose a higher moral ground that he could live without regrets.

War brings the destruction of life and property. Most of the victims are permanently mentally affected. War brings out the worst in people. During this war, the Germans tortured and experimented on live human beings, something that the people of today would call terrorism. Nevertheless, the director did an excellent job of demonstrating the aforementioned themes. The screenplay earned its place among the greatest of all movies.

References

Prince, S. (2015). Movies and meaning. An introduction to film. Boston: Allyn.

Stein, A. (2004). Music and trauma in Polanski’s The pianist (2002) 1. The International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 85(3), 755-765.

Waterhouse-Watson, D., & Brown, A. (2015). Playing for their lives: music, musicians, and trauma in Holocaust film. Dapim: Studies on the Holocaust, 29(1), 1-16.