The Pianist Movie Analysis

The Pianist is a great movie based on a true story. The movie is set in the1940s at the beginning of the Holocaust during World War II. The film begins with a black and white scene. Wladyslaw Szpilman (played by actor Adrien Body), a famous Polish Jew living in Warsaw, and working for a radio station as a Pianist sees bombs dropping at the radio station where he works. After the radio station is destroyed by an explosion from German bombing he leaves the station, and he meets a pretty lady named Dorota (played by actress Emily Fox), but they discover they have different faiths.

Szpilman then heads home to his family. Szpilman and his family realize that Britain and France have declared war on Nazi Germany.They truly believe that the war will end quickly so Szpilman and his family do not worry. The film, directed by Roman Polanski, received numerous nominations such as the Oscar for the best director, best adapted screenplay and best actor.

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This film successfully portrays a true story in memory of Wlydslaw Szpilman a Polish Jewish pianist who survived the Holocaust. This movie has different effects. One example of this is when the Jews are forced to live in the ghettos and wear armbands imprinted with the blue Star of David to identify themself. All Jews weather rich or poor are put to live together where food is hard to find and death awaits them all. One of the scenes that made me feel sad is when a group of soldiers go into the apartments across from Szpilman, and they order the family on the top floor of the apartments to stand and Soto 2 because the older man in a wheelchair is unable to stand, two of the soldiers throw him off the balcony.

The rest of the family is then taken out into the street and shot.

This scene was done effectively because the actors make it look so realistic while my eyes fill with tears at seeing how the soldiers threw the poor old man off the balcony just because he could not stand up in front of them. However, not everything in the movie is sad. The part of the film that I most enjoyed is when Szpilman plays the piano and the music is peaceful and relaxing. It made everything seem normal. However, the movie started to become more melancholy and this is evident when the people are dying everyday. Some kill themselves and others are shot by the German soldiers. I just can not imagine how horrific it was back in those times. The part of the film that made me cry was when all the Jewish people including the Szpilman family tries to escape deportation, but find it inevitable. Everyone was deported to death concentration camps where all were either shot, burned or gassed to death.

Szpilman is the only one who survives in the ghetto of all the hundreds of dead bodies lying in the streets. He is pulled away from deportation by one of the Jewish policemen that admired his music and befriends him. He saves his life and sends him back into the ghetto. The ghetto however is empty because all the Jews were killed or deported. He is the only Jew left. A year goes by and his life in the ghetto further deteriorates. During this period, he suffers from hunger and lives in hiding. He befriends two non- Jews (Anderzej Bougcki and his wife Janina Bougcki) who help him in hiding, give him food and help him avoid being captured by the Germans. While in hiding, he witnesses many horrific acts committed by the German soldiers. In his first hiding place one of the German neighbor discovers Szpilman but is unable to capture him.

That gives Szpilman the chance to find another place to hide. In his second hiding Soto 3 place he almost dies from jaundice and malnutrition. This part of the movie is really sad his body looks like a skeleton. Years later the Polish resistance mounts the Warsaw Uprising against the German occupation. Szpilman witnesses the Polish insurgents fighting the Germans outside his window. Again, he dodges death when a German tank shells the apartment he is hiding in. As the result of the fighting, Warsaw is razed and depopulated. After the surviving Warsaw population is deported from the ruins the German soldiers escape from the approaching Soviet Army. Szpilman is left entirely alone. He suffers from hunger and desperately searches for food. He finds a can of pickles.

While he is trying to open the can, a captain of the Wehrmacht discovers him. Wilm Hosenfeld (played by actor Thomas Kretschmann) questionshim and discovers that Szpilman is a Pianist. The captain asks Szpilman to play something for him on the piano that was in the building. The Captain ( Hosenfeld) likes the music Szlipman plays and he lets him continue hiding in the attic of the building and even brings him food occasionally. This helps Szpilman survive.This movie has very graphic scenes, and authentically shows the terrible reality that thousands of Jewish people endured during those years. At the end of the movie after a few more years the war is over and Szpilman is a free man.

Free only on paper. However inside there is nothing left of him. He is alone. All his family and friends are dead. He does not believe in, respect or trust anyone. The world he knew has changed completely. He plays a song he used to perform with excitement, but now plays it with sadness and anger. The way he plays the piano however can not change what happened, but what happened changed him forever.

Soto 4 Scott, A. O. "Surviving the Warsaw Ghetto Against Steep Odds." Rev. of The Pianist. New York Times 27 Dec. 2002: 1-3. Newyorktimes.com. 27 Dec. 2002. Web. 28 Feb. 2012. Pamela Jaramillo. “Pantalla de Suenos” Rev. El Pianista. Mundo Hipanico Newspaper. 31 Jan. 2004: 1-4. Mundohispano.com 31 Jan. 2004. Mon. 28 Feb. 2012.