What Is the Story of The Pianist?
As Szpilman, Brody gets to the heart of what it takes to survive and howthe ordeal transforms one.
Reality is often far more heartbreaking than fiction.
Image via Pathé Distribution
The film opens with a scene of Szpilman playing Chopin at a Warsaw radio station.
Through each indignity, we also see the helplessness and vulnerability creep into Szpilman’s once-confident facade.
In an almost sadistic manner, the rest of the movie peels away those beliefs of power and untouchability.
Image via Focus Features
As Nazi oppression intensifies, we see Szpilman’s confident smile being wiped away.
His eyes reflect growing horror as his family loses their possessions and freedom.
He does not play Szpilman as a hero actively outsmarting the Nazis.
Image via Focus Features
Instead,he emphasizes the bewildered passivity that was the reality for most trapped in these circumstances.
Szpilman does not fight in any armed resistance.
He is saved by happenstance, fleeting connections, and others' empathy.
Image via Focus Features
Brody’s subdued portrayal underscores how mere fortunerather than grand heroicsoften determines who lives and who dies.
The movie acknowledges trauma and guilt.
He seems imprisoned not only physically but also psychologically.The Pianistcaptures Szpilman’s near-animalistic state by the end.
Even finding a can of pickles becomes a momentous victory.
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