THE PIANIST @moviebus

THE PIANIST

Adrien Brody, Thomas Kretschmann, Frank Finlay, Maureen Lipman, Ed Stoppard

Directed by: Roman Polanski
Written by: Ronald Harwood, Wladyslaw Szpilman
Produced by: Roman Polanski, Robert Benmussa, Alain Sarde

US: 27/12/02 UK: 24/01/03

Adapted from the autobiography of Wladyslaw Szpilman, a Polish Jew who detailed his survival during World War II. A composer and a pianist, he played the last live music heard over Polish radio airwaves before Nazi artillery hit. During the brutal occupation, he eluded deportation and remained in the devastated Warsaw ghetto. There, he struggled to stay alive even when cast away from those he loved. He would eventually reclaim his artistic gifts and confront his fears, with aid from the unlikeliest of sources.

I had ambivilent feelings about this movie until I read Benyamin Cohen's forensic dissection of this and a number of recent 'holocaust' movies. Read his brilliant analysis for yourself in the hyperlink below for Jewsweek Magazine.