Essay – The Pianist Rukshar

Gobarani
With close reference to the techniques used discuss how a particular scene or scenes
contributed to the overall success of a film or television program

Roman Polanski’s 2002 film “The Pianist” is a downbeat drama, based on the true story of
Wladyslaw Szpilman, a privileged musician who spent five years struggling against the Nazi
occupation of Warsaw. Redolent with important scenes that show the ruthless behavior of the
Nazis, Polanski presents the idea of man’s inhumanity to man at the time of Hitler’s rise to
power in Germany. During this period Hitler denounced the Jews and with his sheer
persuasiveness took control of Germany’s police and media and compelled average Germans to
go along with the Holocaust. Being a Jew himself, Polanski presents Szpilman’s story with bleak,
acid humour and a ruthless objectivity that encompasses both cynicism and compassion. In
order to develop this idea throughout the film the director uses high camera angles and mise
en scene in the three key scenes of the film; the scene of the umschlagplatz, the wasteland and
the scene of Szpilman playing the piano to the German officer.

In the scene of the umschlagplatz the camera techniques allow the viewers to be voyeurs by
witnessing the imprisonment and helplessness of the Jews at that time. During the holocaust,
the Umschlagplatz in the Warsaw Ghetto was where the Jews were gathered for deportation to
the extermination camps. This scene begins with a tracking shot of the Jews entering into the
umschlagplatz and this is where Polanski reveals the date and the year to be the period in
which the deportation of the Jews had commenced. The significance of this information is later
revealed as the camera zooms out to a high angle view of the whole of the umschlagplatz from
the outside of the barbed wire fence forcing the viewers to witness the imprisonment and the
powerlessness of the Jews and thus man’s inhumanity to man at that time. In this scene it is
demonstrated that the Jews desperately wanted freedom from the situation that they were in,
however due to the power of the Nazis they were helpless and as symbolized by the high angle
shot of the umschlagplatz and the barbed wire fence, they were prisoners of a time when there
was no justice. In this film Roman Polanski has successfully critiqued the powerlessness of the
Jews at that time based on the remorseless behavior of the Nazis present in the Polish society
at that time.

Through the cinematography of the scene of the wasteland the viewers are yet again the
voyeurs witnessing the ruins of the war. Man’s inhumanity to man is once again revealed in this
scene as Szpilman is portrayed to be a prisoner in what seems to be an endless ruin of buildings
and empty houses. With the use of the high camera angle Szpilman appears to be lonely and
helpless and the endless rows of ruined buildings and houses symbolize the stark reality of the
situation he is in. The use of the high camera angle reflects the idea of the powerlessness of the
 Essay – The Pianist Rukshar
Gobarani
Jews at that time. The endless ruins of the buildings all around Szpilman are used by the
director to depict him as a prisoner to symbolize the captivity of the Jews in Warsaw at the
time. Polanski has also successfully portrayed the imprisonment of the Jews at the time through
the simple action of Szpilman constantly running from one place to another in hopes of
surviving and living to see another day. This nomadic behavior epitomizes the urge of the Jews
to want to stay live and their desperate attempts for survival. However in hindsight this very
action of Szpilman stands to contrast that of a real prisoner because in reality the Jews were
running from something that they weren’t even the slightest bit guilty of.

In the scene where Szpilman plays the piano for the Nazi officer (Hosenfeld) the viewers are yet
again positioned to be voyeurs this time of the happiness that Wladyslaw Szpilman experiences
as he realizes that he can finally physically play the piano. Polanski manipulates the camera
angle in this scene to present the audience with the uncertainty of Szpilman’s situation at the
time when he is asked to play the piano and thus his powerlessness as all he could do at that
moment was just obey the officer’s commands. The medium shot of Szpilman at the piano is
deliberately extended by the director in order to symbolize his astonishment towards the
officer’s command. Szpilman’s amazement is a result of the fact that all this time in hiding he
had repetitively only played the piano in his mind with the fear that he may gave himself away,
however the officer’s hat and coat on the top of the piano suggest the uncertainty of the
situation he is in and demonstrates that anything could still happen, as far as Szpilman is
concerned he could be shot right then and there. The significance of this scene is noticed as this
is the first time we see Szpilman, a Jew on the run for his life, hungry and defeated, with power
in his hands. This is also a turning point in the film as it is the first time we any form of
sympathy from a German officer. The veil of light that falls on Szpilman while he plays the piano
portrays him as an angel and at the same time makes him appear powerful something which he
wasn’t for the past several years.

“The Pianist” directed by Roman Polanski engages the viewer into an era when Hitler rose to
power through his sheer persuasiveness and manipulation of the nation as a whole and
presents the idea of the powerlessness of the Jews during this time. By showing Szpilman as a
survivor but not a fighter or a hero – as a man that does all he can to save himself, but would
have died a long time ago if it wasn’t for his good luck and kindness of a few non – Jews,
Polanski offers a critique on the darkest period in history while perhaps at the same time
reflecting his own deepest feelings. Perhaps the fact that Polanski himself was a survivor of the
bombing of Poland is the reason behind why this film exhibits the stark reality of that time
frame and not another Hollywood drama.