Thomas Kretschmann

A Jew rides out WWII in Warsaw.

It's well made, but the script is pretty unexceptional. I was bored a lot, and when I wasn't bored (there is a lot to appreciate), I still would rather have been doing something else. This movie is a perfect example of why I hate the phrase "based on a true story." It's not exactly the same holocaust movie that gets made every few years - the first hour or so is, but then it takes a slightly different turn. But still, there's no creativity or craft to this show more story, and no room for it.

Concept: C
Story: C
Characters: C
Dialog: B
Pacing: C
Cinematography: B
Special effects/design: A
Acting: A
Music: B

Enjoyment: C minus

GPA: 2.7/4 show less

NO OF PAGES: 0 SUB CAT I: Holocaust SUB CAT II: SUB CAT III: DESCRIPTION: Rated ""R"". This film contains some limited swearing, graphic violence and depictions of death and is not appropriate for children. There aren?t any words left in our world to describe the horrors of the Holocaust. Only pictures hold us in sufficient sway to convict, humble and revive determination. As World War II fades into the rapidly receding past, those pictures seem to be intensifying, becoming more vivid and show more gruesome, as if to somehow counteract the dulling effects of the passage of time. But do not ever confuse these images of the past with entertainment. As ""entertainment,"" The Pianist is an utter failure. Indeed, it is grotesque, gory, frightening and obscene. As an instrument of conviction and instruction, however, it parallels the path taken by Saving Private Ryan and Schindler?s List.

Warsaw, 1939. Composer and pianist Wladyslaw Szpilman passionately plays Chopin as the first German bombs spiral downward. He?s a confident man. A proud man. A handsome man. A Jew. Based on his autobiography, The Pianist follows his perilous journey through the Holocaust, peering in on him as everyone in his family is ripped from his embrace and taken to the death camps. It quietly observes as his music-deprived fingers tap at the cold, empty air, vainly searching for the sleek ivory keys that were once such a comfort. The camera recoils (but never blinks) as it watches his friends?and the strangers he calls his own?fall around him in a hail of Nazi bullets. It squints hungrily as it chronicles his course through torture, abuse, starvation, loneliness, fear and despair. It stares helplessly as he withers away (physically and emotionally) to a shell of his former self, waiting for the Russians to finally cross the river.NOTES: Purchased at Costco. SUBTITLE: show less

NO OF PAGES: 0 SUB CAT I: Holocaust SUB CAT II: SUB CAT III: DESCRIPTION: Rated ""R"". This film contains some limited swearing, graphic violence and depictions of death and is not appropriate for children. There aren?t any words left in our world to describe the horrors of the Holocaust. Only pictures hold us in sufficient sway to convict, humble and revive determination. As World War II fades into the rapidly receding past, those pictures seem to be intensifying, becoming more vivid and show more gruesome, as if to somehow counteract the dulling effects of the passage of time. But do not ever confuse these images of the past with entertainment. As ""entertainment,"" The Pianist is an utter failure. Indeed, it is grotesque, gory, frightening and obscene. As an instrument of conviction and instruction, however, it parallels the path taken by Saving Private Ryan and Schindler?s List.

Warsaw, 1939. Composer and pianist Wladyslaw Szpilman passionately plays Chopin as the first German bombs spiral downward. He?s a confident man. A proud man. A handsome man. A Jew. Based on his autobiography, The Pianist follows his perilous journey through the Holocaust, peering in on him as everyone in his family is ripped from his embrace and taken to the death camps. It quietly observes as his music-deprived fingers tap at the cold, empty air, vainly searching for the sleek ivory keys that were once such a comfort. The camera recoils (but never blinks) as it watches his friends?and the strangers he calls his own?fall around him in a hail of Nazi bullets. It squints hungrily as it chronicles his course through torture, abuse, starvation, loneliness, fear and despair. It stares helplessly as he withers away (physically and emotionally) to a shell of his former self, waiting for the Russians to finally cross the river.NOTES: Purchased at Costco. SUBTITLE: show less

Rated R - Not for kids