The Pianist

In his film The Pianist, director Roman Polanski uses the metaphor of music to express the complete loneliness and isolation that pianist Wladyslaw Szpilman faced as he struggled to survive in Warsaw during World War II. A successful pianist playing classical pieces on the radio, Szpilman is afforded some special treatment during the Nazi occupation of Poland, although he and his family are still forced to live in the ghetto. It is his fame that prompts a member of the Jewish police to save him when Jews are being herded onto trains bound for concentration camps. First alone, then aided by friendly Poles, then alone again, Szpilman life in Warsaw is an everyday struggle. Although there are sometimes pianos available for him to play, he cannot play them for fear of discovery. When he is finally discovered by German captain Wilm Hosenfeld, and ordered to play the piano, his playing is a climactic return to one of his defining characteristics. While music is very present in the beginning of the film, it is at this moment that things begin to take a turn for the better, as Szpilman’s return to music foreshadows a return to some amount of normalcy.

This film is universal in the isolation that Szpilman experiences. Although we will most likely never be struggling to survive in a ghetto like Szpilman, we can understand loneliness. Even surrounded by people, we can experience a total isolation similar to that Szpilman feels. Besides the important theme, this film is exceptionally well crafted. Although the Holocaust is in itself a gripping subject that automatically commands interest and respect, Polanski’s focus on one individual over a longer length of time helps the viewer to better understand the Holocaust than some films that are broad but superficial. By following Szpilman so closely throughout the film, it allows the viewer to associate with him very closely. The viewer’s knowledge and perspective is limited to Szpilman’s, creating an effect similar to written first-person narration. Adrien Brody acts extremely well as Szpilman, truly earning his Academy Award win for Best Actor (Focus Features).

Wladyslaw Szpilman: I don't know how to thank you.
Captain Wilm Hosenfeld: Thank God, not me. He wants us to survive. At least, that's what we have to believe."

This film addresses the critical thinking and Christian elements of the general education requirements. It causes us to view the Holocaust from a fresh perspective, bringing all the ethical/moral/theological questions associated with that time period to mind. As one views this film, one cannot help but ask about God’s involvement (or rather seeming lack thereof). Every student at SNU should view this film because it is important to understand the Holocaust, especially in relation to our faith.

I chose this film partially because of the impact it had on me when I first viewed it. When my high school English class viewed it as part of a unit on Judaism, I was extremely moved by its depiction of the Holocaust. Other accounts that I had read or watched hadn’t been able to convey the heartless efficiency of the Nazi regime and its impact on its victims. When I first watched it, the only film to which I could compare it as far as its emotional impact was Hotel Rwanda. It remains the most powerful film I have ever watched about the Holocaust.

Works Cited:

Focus Features. "The Pianist: Awards and Nominations." Film in Focus. 15 December 2009 .

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Photo from:
http://oktonite.sg/microsites/filmart_oscars/Gallery/pianist6.jpg