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| The Pianist Movie Poster |
The film details the life of a jewish and how he managed to survive in Warsaw during the second world war. Like Shindlers List before it this film by Roman Polanski is very moving at times and shows the brutal reality of the Nazi's Anti Semitic campaign.
The film starts with a pianist playing for Warsaw radio when the bombs begin to fall at the start of the german attack and we go on to follow through the early stages and the slow erosion of jewish rights until the creation of the Warsaw Ghetto where he has to move to with the rest of his extended family. Life is hard and with hardly any food available the pianist gets a job in a cafè playing music for diners in the ghetto. Refusing a job as a Jewish Police officer (Nazi Puppet) he struggles through spending his pittance of a wage feeding his extended family on the little rations he can afford. When his brother gets selected by the Nazi's for something he manages to use his friendship with a Jewish Policeman to get him released but its only delaying the inevitable as its not long before the ghetto is wound down as the Nazi's implement the final solution. As his family are being herded on to cattle carts on their way to the Trablinka concentration camp the jewish policeman pulls him from the crowd and saves his life.
As he was selected to stay he's employed as a labourer on a building site as a hod carrier, when he takes time to watch allied bombers and stumbles dropping his load of bricks he bears the brunt of retaliation from the supervising germans. Soon his fellow jewish prisoners decide that something more clerical is more for our pianist. He's placed in charge of supplies and in that role he's able to smuggle weapons into the ghetto for a future up rising the labours have planed. Before the uprising starts the pianist is able to escape the ghetto and seek the help of a former singer on radio Warsaw and she guides him to a safe house where he lives on what little food is bought to him by her and other sympathisers. He watches the ghetto uprising from his safe house and its ultimate failure.
As the Russians get closer to Warsaw most of the population is evacuated but having no papers the pianist is left behind to fend for himself. As Warsaw is destroyed around him he scavenges for food, whist trying to open an old can of pickles he encounters a German officer. when questioned he tells of his life as a pianist and plays for the officer belatedly. The officer takes pity on him and as he hides i the loft the officer brings him food and keeps him alive. Under no delusions the officer tells him he won't have to wait long for the Russians to come and before he knows it the germans are pulling out. The german officer gives him his great coat as its the middle of winter when Warsaw is liberated.
When the Russians arrive the pianist is pleased to see them and rushes out to meet the liberators, under a hail of gunfire he manages to convict them that he's polish not a german officer and narrowly avoids being killed. This sees the end of the war for the pianist and we next see him performing on stage again, he goes on to live into his 80's and stays in Warsaw all his life. The german officer who showed him kindness died in a Russian Pow camp in 1952. This film by Roman Polanski is very good and moving at times. Although it deals with the details of the final solution in a very soft and diplomatic way it still conveys the brutality and harsh environment well to the viewer. In short a very good film and takes its place well alongside Shindlers List
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