"The Pianist", a film that has received numerous accolades, is said to be a film that renders the atmosphere of horror and despair without scenes of blood and violence. But in my opinion, the taste of this film is very bland. The so-called "horror and despair" depends more on the audience's own imagination.
I read a lot of reviews about this movie, and everyone fell in love with a certain line or a certain scene, so they gave the film a "natural" five. It seems that everyone's feelings are very similar to mine. You are not shocked by this movie to reach the state of being deposited in it. You can't tell where it is exciting and where it hits the soul directly. Perfection in some small details does not allow me to give it five points unconditionally. Maybe a lot of people are evaluating him with "excellent" colored glasses because of the film's high international recognition, and they have given too high scores. But I still want to calmly analyze whether this movie deserves such a high score.
First of all, I can't see the theme of this movie. Some people may say that this is based on a person's real experience. Life is inherently messy, and you can't plan a clear theme. I admit, life is messy, but movies shouldn't be. As a work created by human beings, you must express something, otherwise you will waste its important value. Throughout this film, you say that he wants to express the precious effect of music on people, it seems to be a little bit; you say that he wants to express the cruelty of the Nazis, yes, it is quite cruel; you say that he wants to express human nature, then only A little bit; you said he wanted to express the tenacity of the protagonist, but no, the protagonist survived more because of luck. I don't think there is any doubt that the subject is not clear. He seemed to say something, but it seemed like he didn't say anything. You can't wait for the audience to write their afterthoughts to plan for you what you want to do, which is obviously not what a good movie should do.
Second, the other big problem with this movie is that it's hard or almost impossible for me to empathize with it. In all fairness, making the audience resonate with the work is the most basic requirement for the author, and it is also the most important feature of the work. But the movie didn't do that well. Let's look at this movie, the environment of the protagonist: during World War II, Poland, the identity of the protagonist: Jew, pianist, musician. If you look at this movie without all the accolades it has received, don't you think like I do: Can you make this one out of these materials? He has so many grasps to infect and shock people, but the author seems to have not used them well, and the works are too bland. War is cruel, fascism is cruel. China, as the main battlefield in Asia during World War II, our ancestors suffered countless persecution and destruction by the Japanese army. We cannot restore the cruelty of this history with all our imaginations. Fascism will only be more cruel than the cruel peak of our imagination. We are the ones who have seen the scene where the enemy inserts the knife into the heart and pulls it out, but the film only captures the handle of the knife, and he doesn't even show the audience the blood splattered all over the floor. Is this film deliberately shot so cleanly that all wars, violence, famine, despair, and fear have to be made up for by the audience themselves? Just relying on the protagonist's two crying, relying on the protagonist's yellow face and thin skin, how much does it restore the real pain of history at that time? At least he still has a piano, but I will never hear the voice of the third child, sixth son and wife.
Third, there is no in-depth exploration of the identity of the pianist. The point of view is the same as before, a movie is a movie, it is a man-made artwork, I don’t have to shoot what happened in history without doing a little processing and adaptation. Oh, no, the director did process it. He seems to have made the extremely dark history less dark. This movie hardly reflects the deep-seated content of human nature, and the good guys and the bad guys are all clear at a glance. Of course, the Trump-like person who finally came to help the protagonist may be a liar, but most of the people the protagonist meets are kind. So as an artist, after receiving so much help from others, shouldn't you show something? to appeal? to help? to fight? You didn't even write a long-lasting masterpiece for it! Am I misunderstanding the word "genius" for a talented pianist? If a painter has only eyes, if a musician has only ears, and if a boxer has only muscles, they cannot be called painters, musicians, and boxers. How can they be indifferent to what is happening and has happened in the world? They lead people to think, express their inner emotions, and advocate appropriate values. They are the guardians and shields of the people (Picasso). As Rizweig (Gustavo) said in "The Grand Budapest Hotel", "Look, there is still a faint dawn of civilization, this barbaric slaughterhouse, once called human nature." But the brilliance of the whole article is reflected in the people who rescued the protagonist, who helped him unconditionally. It turns out that the role of the protagonist is a mirror, which only reflects light and does not emit light by itself? The final protagonist of the film is chosen to play the piano in Warsaw until he dies, and that's all. Am I asking too much of a movie? Or am I asking too much of the protagonist?
Of course, the advantages of the movie need not be mentioned. The actors' acting skills are excellent, and the director's shots look very comfortable and beautiful. I just feel sorry, I don't feel happy, is the movie just over? So much that Chopin, who may have moved the German officers in the last paragraph, didn't move me. At that time, I was still struggling with what the film was trying to express? I'm thinking, it's not going to end like this, where is this going? The director is too restrained.
Some people say that every grain of dust stirred up by the rolling wheels of the times falls on a person as a mountain. Yes, I was looking forward to seeing the mountains, but only saw dust in the movie.
2021.8.8 "The Pianist"
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