Pianist, The [Old Version]

Well, Tim, "The Pianist" was not really a Hollywood production. Mostly, it was financed by a French company, and Universal (via its art-house arm, Focus) picked up the movie for distribution in the United States.

Thats interesting? Must explain why it was so good! lol...

[:)]

A truly amazing film. I was moved in way that I only have been with one other film this year (Hours, The.)

It remind us that we should never forget ...

Tim,

My wife and I watched this last weekend, and I have to agree with you. I had the exact same reaction when comparing it to Schindler's List.

For me, this film was more "intimate." I was more intimately entangled in Szpilman's constant fight for survival than with Schindler's struggle to protect what Jews he could. I was more intimately aware here of the Nazis' callous and contemptuous view that Jews were nothing more than vermin to be exterminated than in Spielberg's depiction of the self-serving and insane Goeth. Where Goeth saw personal uses for Jews, the Nazis portrayed here look upon Jews much like an adolescent boy would look upon ants: as things to be tortured under a magnifying glass in the hot sun.

These cruelties are made all the more profound when Szpilman comes across a sympathetic Nazi captain who has a genuine want to help another human being. This is where it is brought forth that the Nazis were not necessarily mindless automatons following orders, but individuals with hearts and souls, some taking relish in inflicting the gruesome atrocities of the Holocaust. No longer could I look at Nazis as a group, but as individuals who in many cases chose what extremes they went to in inflicting harm.

I have always understood the Holocaust and the tragedy it was on a cognitive level, but Polanski punched me in the gut and made me understand on an emotional level that engaged me in more of a participatory than observational way.

Brody's performance went a long way in getting me invested in this film and Szpilman's travails. Watching him take Szpilman from an able-bodied musician to the wretch he becomes through the ravages of war, hunger, and illness, it is impossible to ignore the amazing talent that Brody is and will continue to be in years to come. The accolades he received for this performance are well-deserved.

The ensemble surrounding Brody is likewise excellent, but this is Szpilman's journey, and Brody, being in almost every scene, captivates throughout.

As is obvious, I have a hard time commenting on this film without comparing it to Schindler's List. I by no means wish to undermine that film's powerful portrayal of the Holocaust, but The Pianist resonated with me on a personal level that Shindler's did not reach.

Do not miss this film. Whether viewed as a companion piece to Schindler's List or, rightfully so, on its own, The Pianist paints a harrowing portrayal of tragedy and how a people rose above and survived where most anyone would have been crushed under the wieght.

Sean (...words fail...)

Sean,

Thanks for your kind words of wisdom. Yeah, this movie is quite unique and very well done. I love how the atmosphere is so colorful, and then so dark. It reminds me that war is nothing to be glorified and honored . . . it truly is hell.

The thing I enjoy about this film is it gave me sense of hope of the human spirit, much more than "Schindlers List". We got to see a man who had so much in his heart, and no matter how dark things got, he still triumphed to achieve his greatest admirations of life. It???s such a truly beautiful film.

Tim,

I agree, and I think that hope is the very thing that made this film so special and impacting. Not only does that hope offer the possibility of a positive outcome, but because this film focused on life in the Ghettoes and not the Concentration Camps, a new wrinkle was introduced.

In the Camps, the outcome seemed forgone: death. In the Ghettoes, the possibility that one might actually make it through added a level of uncertainty that had me agonizing with Szpilman. While on the one hand you might make it through a few more weeks with little incident, tomorrow the train might come to take you away. This helped me be even more involved in Szpilman's plight.

A great movie that offers yet another side to this atrocity.

Sean