'The Pianist'

Paper Summary:

In this article, the writer notes that Roman Polanski's film, "The Pianist" is somewhat atypical of his work to date in its presentation. Whereas the filmmaker had at the time provided the public with films that turn and twist reality to unbearable proportions, "The Pianist" instead shows the audience the horrors that realism can depict. To achieve this,the writer points out that Polanski uses the Holocaust and the suffering of the Jews during this time as his subject matter. However, true to the filmmaker's style, he does not make this presentation in only one dimension. Indeed, the film depicts a variety of dimensions not only for the events in the film, but also the characters responsible for these events. Revenge, selfless love, hatred and even joy often manifest themselves in a single person fighting for survival in an environment of extreme social upheaval. The writer discusses that as such, Polanski demonstrates Jew and Nazi alike as primarily human, and bases the main message of his film upon this.

From the Paper:

"It is against this background that both the book and the treated film version survive to inspire Polanski for his work years later. According to Portuges, Polanski only discovered the book when it was republished in 1998, under its new title, The Pianist, and found himself inspired. The reason for this is not only the subject matter, presentation of events, and prose style, but also the fact that Polanski had found an author and topic that he could deeply identify with. Although disagreeing on many other aspects of the film, critics are unanimous in their assessment of this film as one of Polanski's most personal and most important works .
"Polanski himself was victimized by the events during the Holocaust. Polanski's Polish Jewish parents were deported to Auschwitz. Here his mother died, while he escaped from Cracow as a young child and relied on the kindness of Polish families."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Chang, Chris. 2002, Nov-Dec. "The Pianist". Film Comment. Findarticles.com: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1069/is_6_38/ai_n13470506
• Cunneen, Joseph. 2003, Feb. 14. "In a Maelstrom: two movies explore the horrors of Nazi power". National Catholic Reporter. Findarticles.com: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1141/is_15_39/ai_97997797
• Lownes, Marilyn Cole. Interview with Roman Polanski - The Pianist. http://minadream.com/romanpolanski/ThePianistInterview.htm
• Petrakis, John. 2003, Jan 25. "Warsaw horror - The Pianist - Movie Review". Christian Century. Findarticles.com: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1058/is_2_120/ai_97174027
• Portuges, Catherine. 2003, April. Film Review: The Pianist. The American Historical Review, Vol. 108, No. 2.

More papers on 'The Pianist':

• Film Review # 54959 : "The Pianist"
• Comparison Essay # 95036 : "The Pianist"
• Book Review # 29582 : "The Pianist"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: