The Pianist (2002)

I can still remember when I first saw The Pianist, a nominee for Best Picture of 2002. It was in the Beverly Center theaters, inside one of those tiny rooms that my ex used to call "grapes." (They have purple upholstery and some are very, very small, so he thought it looked like you were sitting inside a grape while watching a movie.) There were only four other people in the theater for the screening, and I was the only non-Jewish person.

I point this out only because I think a lot of people did not see this film initially because it was about the Holocaust. Despite the quality of films in recent decades that have dealt with this subject, many in the general audience seem to feel that the subject matter has been covered as fully as possible already. Maybe that's why The Pianist seemed to attract (at least at first) very little attention. I went to see it because it was being hailed as one of director Roman Polanski's best films. Polanski has created some remarkable movies over the years, and I do think The Pianist stands among them as one of the his greatest achievements.

The film stars Adrien Brody as Wladyslaw Szpilman, a famous pianist in Poland before the war. In exacting detail, the film reveals the series of events that led to Szpilman being isolated from his family and escaping deportation to the concentration camps. From the forced evacuation of their homes to the liquidation of the Warsaw ghettos to the resistance that those in captivity displayed, this film shows just how desperate survival became for people like Szpilman. It is only through some remarkable luck at times, some quick thinking at others, and the generosity of several people that he manages to live through World War II without being captured or killed--and he manages to stay within the confines of his hometown of Warsaw, a truly astonishing feat.

Brody won the Oscar for Best Actor that year over some pretty tough competition, actors like Daniel Day-Lewis in Gangs of New York and Nicolas Cage in Adaptation and Jack Nicholson in About Schmidt. I correctly predicted his win. After you've seen his transformation from the suave, cultured musician at the beginning of the film to the emaciated creature who tries to eat a can of pickles near the end of the film, you'll understand why he won. It's an overwhelmingly emotional performance.

One scene in particular still stands out for me. Discovered by a Nazi officer in an abandoned house, Szpilman is "forced" to play Chopin. His beautiful rendition brings the officer almost to tears, and in a pretty remarkable act of kindness, the officer helps Szpilman to hide and brings him food and even offers him a coat for warmth. Despite knowing that these events are factual, you can't help but be shocked at moments like this. They reveal the depth of our humanity, our ability at times to see past whatever preconceived ideas we have about other people and see the beauty and talent that each possesses. That is why, perhaps, The Pianist most deserves our attention.