The Pianist Movie Analysis

The Pianist was directed by Roman Polanski, and was based on the book of Wladyslaw Szpilman (IMDb). The filming began on February 19, 2001 and primarily took place in the Babelsberg Studios in Berlin and the streets of Warsaw. The film was released in 2002. 

This was a full length picture film, with a combination of scenes from the actual Warsaw Ghetto. Adrien Brody who was the main character played, Wladyslaw Szpilman portrayed a Jewish pianist, who lived with his family in Warsaw (IMDb). Thomas Kretschmann played Captain Wilm Hoesnfeld who you didn’t see until the end of the film, but he was a Nazi soldier who helps Wladek survive by bringing him food (IMDb). Emilia Fox played Dorota who was acquainted with Wladek before the ghettos, she helps hide him in an apartment with her husband (IMDb). Roy Smiles who played Itzak Heller, the Jewish Policeman in the ghetto, even though he didn’t have much screen time, he was an essential character because he saved Wladek from getting on the train to the death camp (IMDb). Dorota was played by Emilia Fox, she was Wladek’s love interest before he was sent to the ghetto. She also aided him in hiding from the German officers (IMDb). Janina and her husband are more friends who helped Wladek hide, they are played by Ruth platt and Ronan Vibert (IMDb). 

The Film started with videos from the real Warsaw ghetto, then went to Wladyslaw recording a song on the piano. The bombs went off in Warsaw blowing up the recording studio. On his way out he meets Dorota, when he gets home his family is packing getting ready for resettlement. The Germans make them start to wear the star of David on their arm. The newspapers came out that they had to move inside the ghettos. When in the ghetto they are treated badly, they are beaten and starved. Soon enough the Szpilman family and everyone else in the ghettos are being taken on trains to the concentration camps. Before Wladek could get on the train, the Jewish officer pulled him from the line and told him to leave. After he escapes, he starts working within the camp, he starts working with the rebels and hiding guns in the food. One day, he’s working on a wall when he sees his friend he knows. He later escapes from the ghettos and is taken care of by some friends. He is hidden in a small apartment right next to the ghetto. While he’s there he sees the fight between the Jews and the soldiers. Janina and her husband aren’t able to take care of him anymore. While on the run again, he runs to Dorota and her husband who take him to a safe apartment in the heart of the germans. Rebels start to kill the German soldiers one by one, so the germans start bombing the buildings, including the one Wladek was in. Soon the soldiers start setting fires, and he jumps a wall and hides in a house that wasn’t destroyed. Wladek hides in the attic of the house, and he searches for food, which he finds a can of something. He soon was discovered by a German soldier, when asked what he did before the war, he told him he was a pianist. Wladek played a song on the piano, when it was over, the soldier left. The German army moved to the house and the Soldier brought Wladek food. Soon the German army left the house, and the soldier asked to Wladek’s name. The Russians liberated the Jews and captured all the German soldiers. The soldier that helped Wladek pleds for one of the Jewish prisoners to get Wladek to help him. The film cuts to Wladek playing the piano on the radio, when that prisoner tells Wladek about the soldier. Wladek goes to the place where the Germans were held and it was empty.

The director uses cinematography to portray the overall feelings of the characters. The camera angles in the film were a good way to display the emotions of the characters. Some camera angles used were wide shots, they showed over the ghettos, to show the bridge in the ghetto, and over the rubble town. The wide shots were used to give a better look at the areas and to show what was really happening. Close ups were used to emphasize a specific moment, like when the close up on wladyslaw’s hands when he was pretending to play the piano. Over the shoulder shots were used to show emotion, morality, and a little humanity. The main over the shoulder shot was over the Captains desk to show the picture of his family. Lighting was a crucial part of the film. The lighting was used to show the overall mood of the settings. In the begining of the film the lighting was bright, then when the bomb hit, the lighting darkened. When in the ghettos the lighting was dark, to show despair and sadness. The darkness was meant to show the harshness and death. When Wladyslaw escaped and was in the apartment, the lighting got brighter, to represent hope and peace. Music is the main way they showed emotion, in the beginning of the film Wladyslaw played Nocturne in C sharp, Op. 72, by Prélude (IMDb). This is important because it represents a hope to Wladyslaw. The only other time he played it was when he was in the apartment air playing it and at the end of the movie, in front of the crowd. The pace of the music was used to show feelings as well. When the music was slow it was to show either peace, when the music sped up it was to show urgency and nervousness. Music was Wladyslaw’s way of keeping hope throughout the film, it was also what saved him with the Captain. 

The movie reflected the Warsaw Ghetto by displaying the mistreatment of the people, and showing how they did not have any food. The movie showed the portal of what life was actually like. The ‘Book Of Ghettos’ and ‘A Film Unfinished’ were real images of the warsaw Ghetto, the movie and books/ film both showed bodies everywhere, the difference between the large and small ghettos, food being rationed, and the bridge being built and used. 

Holocaust survivor Eva Zaret said, ““The Pianist” was the perfect choice to screen in association with all the other events as it offers an unflinchingly personal and brutal view of the Holocaust that fits well with the other on-campus events educating a new generation of its horrors” (History Club). She had also said that the film was a real way to describe the events of the Ghettos, rather than a dramatic aspect to it. While the survivors thought it was a true testoment of the Holocaust, some film reviwers thought it was detached and lacked urgency (Robert Erbert). 

The film was a good portrayal of the lives of the people in the Warsaw ghetto, and it was a good way to represent how the Jews were treated.  The film was entertaining, it kept the audience interested in the film, and wanting to watch it more. There was always something happening and with it being a true story made the movie more emotional and relatable.