The Pianist

In Roman Polanski's film, The Pianist, Władysław Szpilman, played by Adrien Brody, is a Jewish, Polish pianist who survives the Warsaw Ghetto and escapes death throughout the movie. Both Władysław Szpilman and Roman Polanski are both Jews who survived the German occupation. Władysław Szpilman, through his piano playing and his autobiography, he expresses his suffering using art, while Roman Polanski expresses his suffering through his film making. In the movie, the mix between the personal journey of Szpilman's and the historical time in Poland is juxtaposed very well. From multiple windows, crannies, and other apertures, Szpilman watches the events which occur all around him, from the Jewish uprising in the Warsaw ghetto and German raids of civilian homes, making the setting more terrifying. The part of the film which struck me the most was the facial expressions the camera could really capture. At one point, Szpilman is told by a friend that he has heard that the cattle cars leave full with people, but never with food, and come back empty just to fill the cattle cars with people once again. He lets out one tear as he remembers that his family were put in those train. The film is more than just a way to tell the story of Władysław Szpilman, it is a way to convey a tangible media to show the sufferings of Władysław Szpilman, Roman Polanski and others like them.

PS. I understand that it is technically now Wednesday, but I finished watching the movie at 11:45, so I really hope this will not be counted as late.