This film is the true account of Vladyslaw Szpilman's experience as a Polish Jew living in the Warsaw ghetto during the Second World War. His love for playing the piano is a constant theme in the film and shows how things have changed for him, from playing in the ghetto, imagining to play, and performing in front of a German soldier who saves his life.
The Pianist combines easy emotional connections and refuses to oversimplify, and I think it is one of the most powerful Holocaust films ever made.
I like the restrained, unsentimental way the Director, Polanski tells the story and I believe Polanski wants us to think more than he wants us to emote. It doesn't oversimplify the situation as there are good and bad Jews, Poles and Germans. As a result, there is a certain amount of randomness to the events that is not comforting, but I think that is realistic.
Unlike Schlinders List, the concentration camps are not shown in the film, making it less shocking in comparison and easier to watch.
The underlying theme here is one of optimism and hope- Wladyslaw and his family never gave up the belief and against all odds civilisation does triumph.
1 comment:
absolutely loved this film. I came out of it feeling really satisfied. It's really hard not to empathise with the main character and imagine the trouble he's going through.
Post a Comment