'The Pianist' - the movie. What's your opinion?

enkidu:

This story is said to happen in occupied Poland, yes? "The Pianists" himself is a Polish citizen, I am right?
So take a closer look on polish characters on the background, shall we?
There is a polish women on the staircase shouting "Jew! Jew!". There is a man, who supposed to take care about our Hero but failed it. Almost every polish character on this movie is theft, collaborator, traitor and of course anti-semite.
Just to remind you. This story is about polish citizen saved from certain death by other polish guys. So why the heck the only decent person in the movie is an German officer!?
There is a scene when Szpillman is looking through the window on the street (during Warsaw uprising). And some german soldiers shooting a girl. What our hero doing in this situation? Nothing. He is Polish. Outside of his safe flat - Poland is burning to the ground. People dying. What our hero doing? Nothing.
All generation of fine polish girls and boys were killed that days. So why i should care about one coward hiding like a mouse in his flat. Why Poland and polish people on this movie are only background.
And a final insult: On the closing credits there is statements about further life of Szpillman and this german officer but no word about peoples who were a real heroes. Poeple, who saved our hero. Personally find this rather insulting. yep.

joepilsudskiThreads: 44 Posts: 2,529 Joined: Apr 27, 07	Sep 19, 08, 02:45 / #
I just saw the movie 'The Pianist' directed by Roman Polanski...Now my opinion of Polanski is mixed; I have seen a couple of his films years ago, and I wasn't particularly impressed, as I though he was rather 'sensationalistic'...But this film had a very good story, and told a tale of history...I enjoyed it...Anyone else see it or have any opinions? http://www.thepianistmovie.com

Grzegorz_Threads: 81 Posts: 6,213 Joined: Nov 16, 06	Sep 19, 08, 02:48 / #
joepilsudski: Anyone else see it Yes... joepilsudski: Polanski Pedophile...

joepilsudskiThreads: 44 Posts: 2,529 Joined: Apr 27, 07	Sep 19, 08, 03:08 / #
Grzegorz_: Pedophile... He did have sex with a youg girl...Have you ever been exposed to that kind of temptation?...I have, and walked away from it rather quickly...But, in many cultures it is not considered 'criminal' for an older man to have relations with a young woman, IF he takes care of her, and it is not a matter of rape...BUT, anyway, what did you think about the movie?...Did you like it or not?

McCoyThreads: 46 Posts: 1,756 Joined: Jul 3, 08	Sep 19, 08, 03:18 / #
joepilsudski: IF he takes care of her, and it is not a matter of rape. hmmm...13 yo girl..? are you pedobear joe?

King SobieskiThreads: 7 Posts: 1,106 Joined: Jan 22, 07	Edited by: King Sobieski Sep 19, 08, 03:25 / #
joepilsudski: But, in many cultures it is not considered 'criminal' for an older man to have relations with a young woman, IF he takes care of her, and it is not a matter of rape the prophet was quite fond of nubile young women by all accounts...by the way, the movie was good, especially when he was starving and found the can of ogorki.

Grzegorz_Threads: 81 Posts: 6,213 Joined: Nov 16, 06	Sep 19, 08, 03:49 / #
13 years old ? He's just a stinking pedo. And the movie - not bad, I expected something worse.

joepilsudskiThreads: 44 Posts: 2,529 Joined: Apr 27, 07	Sep 19, 08, 16:19 / #
King Sobieski: the movie was good, especially when he was starving and found the can of ogorki. Oh yeah...And the German who discovered him understood...the German knew what was coming, and at least showed some compassion...I thought the scenes of the devasted Warsaw neighborhoods were very striking, too.

beckyinjozefowThreads: 1 Posts: 28 Joined: Sep 5, 08	Sep 20, 08, 14:30 / #
Very moving. I don't normally watch movies with much violence, so it was esp. tense for me. I didn't know a thing about the director. I thought it was well done.

SwiteziankaThreads: - Posts: 525 Joined: Jun 17, 08	Sep 22, 08, 11:50 / #
Quite well done, I liked it. And I liked the music in the film. I loved the scene when Szpilman, dirty and wearing rags, started playing Chopin to prove he's a pianist.

shewolfThreads: 5 Posts: 1,834 Joined: Dec 23, 06	Sep 22, 08, 12:06 / #
What did you think about the lead actor not being Polish in real life?

loco polacoThreads: 3 Posts: 421 Joined: Aug 5, 08	Sep 23, 08, 17:18 / #
what? you may want to explain insted of just slamming. how the f.. is this movie insulting???

EbonyandBathoryThreads: 7 Posts: 349 Joined: Feb 14, 08	Sep 23, 08, 17:42 / #
shewolf: What did you think about the lead actor not being Polish in real life? Who cares? It's acting! Did you know the man who played Han Solo is not really from outer space? "The Pianist" is Polanski's greatest later work. Because of his personal life his films went downhill for sometime after "Chinatown," and "The Pianist" was a welcome and long overdue return to form from one of Poland's greatest artists, alleged pedophile or not. I would rant "The Pianist" after "Chinatown," and "Knife in the Water" as Polanski's best.

rdywenurThreads: 5 Posts: 175 Joined: Jun 28, 08	Sep 23, 08, 18:16 / #
Ages ago when it first came out. I liked it.

MagdalenaThreads: 5 Posts: 1,387 Joined: Aug 15, 07	Sep 24, 08, 03:44 / #
EbonyandBathory: The movie wasn't about those people. It was about Szpillman and his story alone. I don't think you understood what enkindu was trying to say. Szpilman did not survive in a vacuum. I, as the viewer, would have liked to know at least something about the people who saved him - hid him in someone's apartment, brought him food, and finally died for him (and did not betray his whereabouts!). There is a scene in the film when Szpilman casually asks something along the lines of "and where is so-and-so" and gets the answer "she got arrested (or killed)" - and that's it. Who were these people? Why did they help Szpilman? Why did they not betray him to the Germans? How did they die/what was their life like after the war? The film did not give any answers. You know why, in my humble opinion? Because to the director, they were not important at all. They were no more than servants whose duty was to serve the great Szpilman. What they did does not deserve any credit, because they were not supposed to act otherwise. Do you praise servants for cleaning your home and cooking your food? If Szpilman was a nice guy, which I am ready to believe, the film did not do anything for him either - I finished watching with the impression that he was an egotistical, cowardly little twat. So even if viewed as EbonyandBathory: t was about Szpillman and his story alone the film still does its main character a major disservice. Thank you Mr Polański ;-/

loco polacoThreads: 3 Posts: 421 Joined: Aug 5, 08	Sep 22, 08, 12:39 / #
good movie

enkiduThreads: 18 Posts: 981 Joined: Sep 23, 08	Edited by: enkidu Sep 23, 08, 15:36 / #
I think this movie is insulting for the Polish nation. Just plain propaganda. Actually i think that this movie should be boycotted in Poland.

polishcanuckThreads: 10 Posts: 583 Joined: Feb 11, 07	Sep 23, 08, 17:41 / #
shewolf: What did you think about the lead actor not being Polish in real life? I don't think it matters, it's just a movie. But the actor is jewish and szpilman was a polish jew. Close enough.

enkiduThreads: 18 Posts: 981 Joined: Sep 23, 08	Sep 23, 08, 17:46 / #
loco polaco: what? you may want to explain insted of just slamming. how the f.. is this movie insulting??? This story is said to happen in occupied Poland, yes? "The Pianists" himself is a Polish citizen, I am right? So take a closer look on polish characters on the background, shall we? There is a polish women on the staircase shouting "Jew! Jew!". There is a man, who supposed to take care about our Hero but failed it. Almost every polish character on this movie is theft, collaborator, traitor and of course anti-semite. Just to remind you. This story is about polish citizen saved from certain death by other polish guys. So why the heck the only decent person in the movie is an German officer!? There is a scene when Szpillman is looking through the window on the street (during Warsaw uprising). And some german soldiers shooting a girl. What our hero doing in this situation? Nothing. He is Polish. Outside of his safe flat - Poland is burning to the ground. People dying. What our hero doing? Nothing. All generation of fine polish girls and boys were killed that days. So why i should care about one coward hiding like a mouse in his flat. Why Poland and polish people on this movie are only background. And a final insult: On the closing credits there is statements about further life of Szpillman and this german officer but no word about peoples who were a real heroes. Poeple, who saved our hero. Personally find this rather insulting. yep.

EbonyandBathoryThreads: 7 Posts: 349 Joined: Feb 14, 08	Sep 23, 08, 17:53 / #
enkidu: On the closing credits there is statements about further life of Szpillman and this german officer but no word about peoples who were a real heroes. Poeple, who saved our hero. Personally find this rather insulting. yep. The movie wasn't about those people. It was about Szpillman and his story alone. Watch "Kanal" or countless others if you want a movie about the "real" heroes. You can't judge a movie because it wasn't about what you want it to be about. Is "Schindler's List" insulting because Schindler was Czech and not Polish?

Grzegorz_Threads: 81 Posts: 6,213 Joined: Nov 16, 06	Sep 23, 08, 17:54 / #
enkidu: Almost every polish character Come on. "Almost" is a serious progress anyway. Like I said before, I expected something worse.

southernThreads: 116 Posts: 10,948 Joined: May 17, 07	Sep 23, 08, 18:12 / #
joepilsudski: 'The Pianist' - the movie. What's your opinion? I have heard it is very good for sleeping.

yehudiThreads: 1 Posts: 871 Joined: Jul 27, 08	Sep 24, 08, 04:00 / #
There were certainly more heroic people in Warsaw in those years. As a Jew i can also say i would rather see Jews fighting in the ghetto uprising. But not every movie has to be about heroism. Some stories are about ordinary people and their own private stories. I thought it was a great movie. And as to the way it portrayed Poles - It was clear that Szpilman survived because Poles in the underground hid him and supported him. Except for the woman on the stairs, it didn't show anti-semites. So you came out looking pretty good.

z_dariusThreads: 22 Posts: 5,091 Joined: Oct 18, 07	Sep 24, 08, 05:35 / #
yehudi: Except for the woman on the stairs, it didn't show anti-semites. So you came out looking pretty good. yehudi: i would rather see Jews fighting in the ghetto uprising. That "looking good" thing happens all the time. It also happened in the Warsaw Ghetto where the Jewish elite did not look good. Not good at all. While indeed, Germans created the Ghetto, the direct impulse for the uprising where the attorcities of some Jewish elders within the Ghetto against their own people. So when you would like to see a movie about the Jewish uprising, watch what you wish for. It might, just might, be made by someone wishing to show the truth - brother against brother.

yehudiThreads: 1 Posts: 871 Joined: Jul 27, 08	Sep 24, 08, 06:54 / #
Is your point that the jews in the ghetto didn't really suffer as much from the germans as from their own leaders? That's a theory I've never come across before.

z_dariusThreads: 22 Posts: 5,091 Joined: Oct 18, 07	Sep 24, 08, 10:50 / #
yehudi: Is your point that the jews in the ghetto didn't really suffer as much from the germans as from their own leaders? You have the usual gift of twisting/misquoting what people say.

loco polacoThreads: 3 Posts: 421 Joined: Aug 5, 08	Sep 24, 08, 12:35 / #
enkidu: Personally find this rather insulting. yep fair enough but the movie is not about those other background characters is it now? btw. there were plenty of people who didn't fight the nazis.. not every pole was doing what you seem to think they were doing. the fighters were not the majority of Warsovians. so, if you want to be upset about by this movie, that is your prorogative but it sure doesn't mean that the movie was insulting or that it sucked. majority of people who have seen it seem to hold an opposite view to yours.

joepilsudskiThreads: 44 Posts: 2,529 Joined: Apr 27, 07	Edited by: joepilsudski Sep 24, 08, 12:52 / #
EbonyandBathory: The Pianist" is Polanski's greatest later work. Because of his personal life his films went downhill for sometime after "Chinatown," and "The Pianist" was a welcome and long overdue return to form from one of Poland's greatest artists, alleged pedophile or not. I would rant "The Pianist" after "Chinatown," and "Knife in the Water" as Polanski's best. One of the best posts I've read so far on the thread...A good short analysis of Polanski's work...I agree. enkidu: This story is said to happen in occupied Poland, yes? "The Pianists" himself is a Polish citizen, I am right? So take a closer look on polish characters on the background, shall we? There is a polish women on the staircase shouting "Jew! Jew!". There is a man, who supposed to take care about our Hero but failed it. Almost every polish character on this movie is theft, collaborator, traitor and of course anti-semite. Just to remind you. This story is about polish citizen saved from certain death by other polish guys. So why the heck the only decent person in the movie is an German officer!? There is a scene when Szpillman is looking through the window on the street (during Warsaw uprising). And some german soldiers shooting a girl. What our hero doing in this situation? Nothing. He is Polish. Outside of his safe flat - Poland is burning to the ground. People dying. What our hero doing? Nothing. All generation of fine polish girls and boys were killed that days. So why i should care about one coward hiding like a mouse in his flat. Why Poland and polish people on this movie are only background. And a final insult: On the closing credits there is statements about further life of Szpillman and this german officer but no word about peoples who were a real heroes. Poeple, who saved our hero. Personally find this rather insulting. yep. You make a number of good points in your post about the 'political slant' of the movie...Polanski is, of course, Jewish, so his view reflects a certain perspective...But, remember this: a musician is not necessarily a 'warrior' and should not be condemned for not taking up arms...This is not to underplay the great courage of those Poles who fought both the Nazis and Bolsheviks.

EbonyandBathoryThreads: 7 Posts: 349 Joined: Feb 14, 08	Sep 24, 08, 15:18 / #
Magdalena: There is a scene in the film when Szpilman casually asks something along the lines of "and where is so-and-so" and gets the answer "she got arrested (or killed)" - and that's it. Who were these people? Why did they help Szpilman? Why did they not betray him to the Germans? How did they die/what was their life like after the war? The film did not give any answers. Perhaps there were no answers. This film was about ONE man's act of survival. Sure there are those who helped him survive and there stories were left untold because to Szpilman they were unknown. People were taken away everyday without anyone being told anything. I think this aspect of the film created a chaotic, uneasy sense, a sense that someone would feel in occupied Poland, I imagine. I hear what everyone is saying, as far as Polanski "showing more brave Poles," but I'm not sure that is what the movie is about. And I'd be more apt to agree with these points if I felt that Polanski went out of his way to depict despicable Poles, or intentionaly omitted Polish bravery, but I don't see it that way. Upon the same lines, there is an upcoming film called "Defiance" about three Polish Jewish brothers who train Jews to fight the nazi's during World War II, I'm sure some of these complaints will be relavant in that film as well.

joepilsudskiThreads: 44 Posts: 2,529 Joined: Apr 27, 07	Sep 24, 08, 15:30 / #
EbonyandBathory: This film was about ONE man's act of survival. Very true, and sometimes that is all that is left to a man, when everything else turns to ****.

EbonyandBathoryThreads: 7 Posts: 349 Joined: Feb 14, 08	Sep 24, 08, 15:39 / #
I think this plays in to some of the guilt that survivors often feel. "Why me? What makes me so good and righteous to have survived when so many better people who helped me died?" It shows the dumb luck and randomness of some Holocaust survivors.