A highly impressive movie about the Jewish family Szpilman, which is living in Warsaw. The young Wladyslaw is a pianist for the local radio, until Germany invades Poland and the family is forced to move to the Ghetto. Polanski manages to make a very personal film about the holocaust, by focusing almost entirely on the Szpilman family and especially on Wladyslaw.
This makes the story even more gruesome, because it becomes clear for the viewer how randomly and mercilessly cruel the nazi’s were, also without ‘Befehl ist befehl’ arguments. Polanski shows his own vision of these historical events. It’s a much more intimate view on the holocaust than for example ‘Schindler’s List’ and ‘La Vita e Bella’. Luckily there evolves a heroic tale of survival in the second part of the film, which gives the viewer some more air to breathe.
