Movies based on the Holocaust during World War II are very common, among which "Schindler's List" and this one "The Pianist" are the most famous. Many people like to compare the two, which is better and which is worse, but in my opinion, this is not necessary. Although the two works have obvious stylistic differences, they are already very important for the expression of the theme of anti-war. to the extreme.
It is worth mentioning that the director of this film, Polanski, had a childhood experience of living in a concentration camp. Many details in the film come from personal memories. For example, when Spearman fled, the officer reminded him "don't run, walk," was what his father said to him when he was a child. This makes the whole film more realistic to a certain extent. We can really feel the cruelty of war in the process of watching. This pervasive sense of fear experience is inseparable from Polanski's personal experience.
A good anti-war movie is not about hitting the word "anti-war" rudely on the screen and letting the characters in the movie shout slogans. Cruelty, and then cherish the preciousness of peace. From this point of view, "The Pianist" is impeccable. For the cruelty of war, this film has done a detailed description of everything. The film focuses on a special individual—a well-known pianist, and the narrative is centered on this character. The particularity of this character is that in times of war, artists and literati are often the fastest losing groups, and their skills are The special era cannot be used, which is similar to a kind of "disabled person". Therefore, although Spearman in the film is usually an upper class in society, he was deprived of only one label left during the war - "Jew". It is powerless, only to constantly accept the unknown destiny. It is precisely because of this particularity of the protagonist of the film that the audience can empathize with the male protagonist all the time. We will always worry about his next destiny and feel his helplessness. ,trauma.
The narrative structure of this film can be described as very complete and traditional. It records the escape process of the pianist Spearman in strict chronological order. This is somewhat similar to the narrative framework of a "road film". The film does not need to work too hard on the overall form of the narrative, just the real and cruel plot content is enough. However, it would be mediocre if it were just a straightforward record of a pianist's wandering career. Obviously, this is not enough to make this film a classic, and the whole film cleverly uses other highlights to make up for the plot itself. The first is the control and use of details. This film shows the unique life details of that era in many places, such as stuffing money into the violin, cutting sugar into six pieces for the whole family, etc... This is to a certain extent enriched the content of the script.
Another highlight of the film lies in its narrative style, which records all the darkness in a calm and restrained way "line drawing", which is also the unique style of Polanski's work itself, and this one is even more so. "Integration". We can find that most of the film is purely using the content of the plot itself to impress the audience. What we are shocked is not the dramatic conflict deliberately set by the directors and screenwriters, but the tragedy itself. There is no soundtrack in the time of the film, obviously, this is what the director wants to express most - a sense of absurdity and cruelty. For example, there is an extremely shocking use of the lens in the film. Against the background of the large and wide-angle ruins, the male protagonist stumbles helplessly in it. In the big environment, he seems so insignificant and helpless. To any sound or music, only the picture itself is at work.
Although this film is called "The Pianist", there are not many piano elements that actually appear, but every appearance is extremely shocking. In the opening scene, with Chopin's Nocturne in C minor as the background, the picture changes from black and white to color, leading to the appearance of the male protagonist who is neatly dressed and playing the piano. , Nocturne in C minor is sad and beautiful, against the gray tones of all living beings, and also lays a sad tone for the whole movie. After that, Polanski arranged a few bombings that broke the tranquility and everything was brought out without any delay. With the element of war, the film soon turned from peace to turmoil, which made the audience feel the impermanence of life under war. For a large period of time after this, there was no musical element at all (except for the part that the male protagonist imagined in the apartment), only massacres and escapes, and the intensive fighting did not give the audience a chance to breathe. The second time the music appeared was also the climax of the whole film. Spearman played Chopin's No. 1 Ballade to the German officer Hosenfeld under the moonlight, which reflected the Polish national revolution epic. The great musical works of , which perfectly fit the scene here, the darkness and cruelty before were briefly disappeared in the sound of the piano, and this scene may be recorded in the annals of film history.
The last time the piano sounded came to an end. The male protagonist finally returned to his hometown as a pianist. He played Chopin's Polonaise as brightly as the beginning, dignified and elegant, which made the whole film perfect. period.
A lot of people think that the ending of the story elevates the work, and I totally agree. In the second half of the film, the hero was rescued because of art and German officers, which made the whole film rise to a higher level in the anti-war theme - human nature is still great, but perhaps we have no choice in the face of the torrent of the times. Simply discussing the absurdity of war or the selflessness of human nature is a general discussion. After all, human beings are complex. As a social animal, facing various intertwined times, social and personal factors, a simple ethical dogmatic analysis may I can't deal with it at all. In this sense, "The Pianist" is not a pure anti-war film. It contains more elements of social psychology. It can make the audience think about the complexity of human nature while sighing the absurdity. Sex, what "The Pianist" does is not to accuse, or to answer a certain question. As an excellent work, its more unique meaning is to throw out a paradox, let us ponder and reflect, maybe this is the Classic for the sake of classic.
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