THE PIANIST — CANNES 2002

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Roman Polanski’s “The Pianist” is the director’s finest achievement.

This film elevates Adrien Brody (Oscar win for Best Actor 2002 in "The Pianist") to eminence for his representation of Wladyslaw Szpilman, a Polish Jew who survived the Nazi occupation of Warsaw.

This movie is every bit as intense as its historic atmosphere of repression and oppression.

Polanski himself was orphaned as a 7 year-old boy during the bombing of Warsaw; he escaped through a hole in a barbed wire fence.

Polanski uses his familiarity with the horrific subject matter in an unsentimental way to depict an occupation that diminished 10,000 Polish Jews living in Warsaw to 20 over a period of four years.

Based on Szpilman’s memoir, which was suppressed by Poland’s Communist government for 53-years, “The Pianist” follows Szpilman from his job as a pianist for Polish radio, to separation with his family, and into a long period of desperate hiding during Nazi occupation.

The muted heroism of Szpilman’s survival flashes as a fragile yet determined pulse in Adrien Brody’s magnificently understated performance.

"The Pianist" famously won the coveted Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 2002.

Rated R. 149 mins.