I consider SCHINDLER'S LIST a masterpiece. Part of that legendary untouchable list which makes up the cream of the crop in the beard's oeuvre. As perfect at what it is trying to do as Raiders, Jaws, Close Encounters, E.T. That shot of mothers realizing their singing children are being taken to the gas chamber, still haunts me to this very day. What a lyrical image of pure evil. Even the controversal end of the film, tears me up every time. It's a great film.
IMHO, THE PIANIST is a better and more harrowing Holocaust picture. It ups the ante, so to speak. There were moments here, where I began to quite literally lose it. A true out-of-body experience, at times this film overwhelmed me with terrible feelings of despair. I know this sounds overly dramatic, but it really was like I was gasping for air, being smothered by the horrifying reality that was Polish Jewry during the 1930s,40s. The verisimilitude Polanski accomplished in his staging of the Holocaust is equal to Spielberg's best efforts, and than some. And this time, it's in (desaturated) color, which only adds to the horror of it all. Polanski actually experienced a German occupied Poland as a youth, and every little detail rings true in that sickening it must have happened just like that way.
But isn't that what Spielberg accomplished in Schindler's List as well? Yes, Spielberg crafted "fly on the wall", documentary-like set-pieces, that really put you squarely in some of the most horrifying events in human history. But there really was no jewish audience surrogate in that film. No Jewish character we could relate to, comparable in dramatic heft to an Oskar Schindler or Amon Goeth (The composite Ben Kingsley character was a plot device, so he doesn't count).
The key to "The Pianist" is that it stays on one man....one family. And that makes all the difference. The events in "Schindler's List" are incredibly visceral, but there is also a mild distance, due to the narrative focus shifting from a German opportunist, to a satanic German commandant, to finally, occasional glimpses of the "schindler juden". The "victims" of the story don't truly come alive as full bodied characters. But it's actually understandable why Spielberg decided to go this route, as it serves his method to avoid as much melodrama or T.V. miniseries cliches, as he could. One might easily fall into that kind of trap with this material, which would be a disservice to the subject matter. By structuring his film in this methodical way, Spielberg never got too specific, which allowed the powerful and encompassing "true" event to come alive in all of it's horrifying enormity. Basically, Spielberg wanted to preserve the hugeness of this crime against humanity. He wasn't just making a singular Holocaust story. He was designing it to be The Holocaust story.
In THE PIANIST, you get to know Adrian Brody and his family (all wonderfully cast) as the nightmare begins. As it get's worse......and worse....and even worse, you stay with their point of view the whole time. This makes for a much more agonizing experience for an audience, because Brody becomes YOU. His family is YOUR family. The empathy level is quite staggering. We experience everything from the banal bickering among family members to some of the most evil acts known to mankind. When these detailed nightmare episodes start happening, and accelerating in their horrible intensity, every little detail stings you like it's all happening in real time. You completely empathize with how Brody experiences every detail of the Holocaust. And Polanski's mojo is so "on" (he has really never been better), you begin to react just as Brody reacts in the film. There is no barrier between you and the events in the film.
And I haven't even talked about the film's subtle meditation on artists and their muse. Powerful, affecting stuff which I will not ruin for any of you.
But the piano playing.............<sigh>
BTW, Adrien Brody is heartbreaking in a largely non-verbal role. His battered face will be etched in your psyche forever. I can't imagine him not getting a Best actor nomination for this.
IMHO, THE PIANIST is a better and more harrowing Holocaust picture. It ups the ante, so to speak. There were moments here, where I began to quite literally lose it. A true out-of-body experience, at times this film overwhelmed me with terrible feelings of despair. I know this sounds overly dramatic, but it really was like I was gasping for air, being smothered by the horrifying reality that was Polish Jewry during the 1930s,40s. The verisimilitude Polanski accomplished in his staging of the Holocaust is equal to Spielberg's best efforts, and than some. And this time, it's in (desaturated) color, which only adds to the horror of it all. Polanski actually experienced a German occupied Poland as a youth, and every little detail rings true in that sickening it must have happened just like that way.
But isn't that what Spielberg accomplished in Schindler's List as well? Yes, Spielberg crafted "fly on the wall", documentary-like set-pieces, that really put you squarely in some of the most horrifying events in human history. But there really was no jewish audience surrogate in that film. No Jewish character we could relate to, comparable in dramatic heft to an Oskar Schindler or Amon Goeth (The composite Ben Kingsley character was a plot device, so he doesn't count).
The key to "The Pianist" is that it stays on one man....one family. And that makes all the difference. The events in "Schindler's List" are incredibly visceral, but there is also a mild distance, due to the narrative focus shifting from a German opportunist, to a satanic German commandant, to finally, occasional glimpses of the "schindler juden". The "victims" of the story don't truly come alive as full bodied characters. But it's actually understandable why Spielberg decided to go this route, as it serves his method to avoid as much melodrama or T.V. miniseries cliches, as he could. One might easily fall into that kind of trap with this material, which would be a disservice to the subject matter. By structuring his film in this methodical way, Spielberg never got too specific, which allowed the powerful and encompassing "true" event to come alive in all of it's horrifying enormity. Basically, Spielberg wanted to preserve the hugeness of this crime against humanity. He wasn't just making a singular Holocaust story. He was designing it to be The Holocaust story.
In THE PIANIST, you get to know Adrian Brody and his family (all wonderfully cast) as the nightmare begins. As it get's worse......and worse....and even worse, you stay with their point of view the whole time. This makes for a much more agonizing experience for an audience, because Brody becomes YOU. His family is YOUR family. The empathy level is quite staggering. We experience everything from the banal bickering among family members to some of the most evil acts known to mankind. When these detailed nightmare episodes start happening, and accelerating in their horrible intensity, every little detail stings you like it's all happening in real time. You completely empathize with how Brody experiences every detail of the Holocaust. And Polanski's mojo is so "on" (he has really never been better), you begin to react just as Brody reacts in the film. There is no barrier between you and the events in the film.
And I haven't even talked about the film's subtle meditation on artists and their muse. Powerful, affecting stuff which I will not ruin for any of you.
But the piano playing.............<sigh>
BTW, Adrien Brody is heartbreaking in a largely non-verbal role. His battered face will be etched in your psyche forever. I can't imagine him not getting a Best actor nomination for this.
