Spoilers
Another back to school one this one, this one a bit more mature. GCSE history, as practice course work before the actual thing, we had to do persecution, & our teacher who knew a large part of next years work was about Black Rights in America, said we should also look at world war 2 & as apart of that the persecution of the Jews & wrote to all our parents to see if we were allowed to watch the Pianist. They all said yes & the whole class had an emotional breakdown, which was the correct reaction & to discus how that made us feel now & what we would try & do in that situation. Ive seen the film once since, but not for years upon years. So tonight was the night to watch this as an adult, maybe not the best thing to do with the world as it currently is but that is then also the reason to watch it & take stock. Tissues are at the ready. I am ready to be torn apart once again.
The last meal, in the camp before they all get put on that train, breaks me every time. It hurts so much. Seeing how their lives have all gone from a normal every day life, to them knowing they are about to go to somewhere where they are never coming back from & that they are actually happy to be all together at the end. It hurts. Because as much as whats about to happen to them is harrowing theres this one moment of peace & solitude before their lives end. & its just the silence of it all & then what happens afterward. Oh i had to pause it while he was walking back to the cafe crying his eyes out, because so was i. It hurt. It really really hurts.
Adrien Broady gives one of the most though provoking beautifully tortured performances ever. You really just feel for this guy, who lived a happy simple normal life who was liked by everyone & accepted & then to see what he has to become to survive & how hes treated & what he has to go through to survive, its horrible. You really do feel for him & yes its one persons story but there are millions more not told & its horrible that there isnt more told, but its just acted superbly & he deserved all the awards he got for this movie.
I was not expecting Emilia Fox to appear in this film at all. I obviously forgot that from my early teens, but oh my. She was good, how she trys to help but no she cant because it will be bad for her & her family if she does.
The ghettos & the fact they make them all live there is just horrible. You watch it & think why the hell did people do this to them. Who in their right mind would do it. & then you look at things happening all over the world right now 80 years later & especially in recent years with wars & governments & you sit there & go oh god some people really aren’t much better than back then are they. What happened was atrocious. & i usually trivialise my reviews, but you cant with something this harrowing. It disrespects them & they need there horrors told to others.
Im glad it showed the uprising to try & regain power & control & their rights. It was so hard to watch & seeing all those bodies & the explosions & deaths that happened were just horrible, but its war. It is again a story that needs telling.
I do like the part in act 3 where the German meets him & helps him. It proves that some of them were just doing their job because they were in the army & had a heart of some sort. Im not saying they all did oh no. But some people in war fight for the cause because their government tell them too, it just happens that they are at the age & in that army at that point. Yes they were.
The script was so meaning full & at points there wasnt much talking, but the silence & the horror spoke for so much more that any words did. The score as well as so much of it was just Piano (which wasnt just from him) was so moving & made you struggle to contain your emotions in. It just worked so well & with it being set during the war, everything just feels so grey & beige & sad the way they have filmed it too. It really does all work.
Why did this film not win best picture (checks stats) Chicago? Really? Well i’ll get there one day. But this was robbed. I am so glad we watched this in history years ago & im so glad i had an emotional breakdown re-watching it. It hurts but it is such a through provoking & beautiful film. Its hard to recommend due to the subject matter, but if youve not seen it, please do & get ready to cry uncontrollably at points.