Dir. Roman Polanski
Scr. Ronald Harwood (adpt. from Wladyslaw Szpilman)
Str. Adrien Brody

I was capitvated by this film, which I’ve been meaning to see for years but was never in the mood to watch it whenever I was at Blockbusters. Not surprising as it is quite harrowing - but then what else do you expect from a film about the life of a Polish Jew during the Nazi Holocaust. The Pianist tells the true story of musician Wladyslaw Szpilman (played by Brody in a minimalist but emotionally provocative performance which definitley deserved his Oscar) surviving the Nazi invasion of Warsaw in 1939 and charts his life through the war until the Russians liberated Poland in 1944.

I can’t really say too much more about it. I had heard that a lot of people found it boring and was expecting to watch yet another film that had been lauded only to not see what everyone else sees. No disappointment to be found here though. Comparisons will surely be made to Schindler’s List but this is a very different type of film and one that is much more delicate in it’s storytelling and much more personal about the subject matter. It doesn’t dwell on the acts of cruelty and barbarism that Spilzman witnessed but they are shocking and stomach churning nonetheless and this cleverly juxtaposes the compassion shown later on by the German officer without having to stress the point or clumsily hammer it home.

This film deserves all its credit. It deals with a very sensitive subject and does so with much subtlty and without any of the histrionics or sermonizing that you often find with such material. While it’s by no means a feel good film, it’s certainly a film which highlights the courage of ordinary people in exceptional circumstances.