Review of The Pianist (2002) by Emma D — 24 Feb 2011

From the autobiography of Wladyslaw Szpilman and through the cinematic eye of Roman Polanski, The Pianist is a tragic yet inspiring tale of a man's survival in Nazi occupied Poland.

Szpilman was a beloved man with many friends and a genius on the piano. But tragically he and his family had to live through the invasion of the Nazis, and Szpilman could do nothing but watch as his fellow Jewish citizens are murdered. But because Szpilman had such a good reputaion, he was saved from the concentration camps. The Pianist is Szpilman's story of his survival under the most impossible of ends. How he survived is up to the viewer. What was is about Szpilman that he was able to live? Was it his intelegence, his personality, his reputation, talent, or was it fate? This depressing tale of the horrors Szpilman had to live through is a tale like no other. This movie is so wonderfully structured to make this movie suspencful, depressing, dramatic, uplifting, and entertaining.

Love him or hate him, but Roman Polanski has an amazing talent for filmmaking. After a string of incredable movies, Polanski finally wins Oscar gold for his work on The Pianist. Having first hand experience of the horrors of the Nazi invasion, Polanski shows the world through the camera how the situation and enviroment was at that time. The details and production on the sets, props and costumes are exceptionally impressive. The cinematography of the camera and lighting shows the viewer a WWII drama like no other, looking just as impressive as Schindler's List.

Adrien Brody gives one of his best preformances in this movie, and even won an Academy Award. His acting in a destroyed Warsaw where the danger of being caught can happen at any moment is very suspenceful and brilliant. This survival story is almost unbelievable, but because it happened it is incredable inspiring, and Polanski was able to bring Szpilman's story to life in cinemas in a very respectable and wonderful way.