The Pianist

Very excellent film. Adrien Brody delivers a terrific performance as Wladyslaw (Wladek) Szpilman, a Polish pianist. The film follows Wladek's struggles for survival during the Holocaust- at many angles, Wladek is able to use his connections and luck to survive, being plucked by the Jewish police to not be sent concentration camps, having friends that are able to hide him in apartments and feed him, having a German officer (Wilm Hosenfeld) not shoot him and instead let him survive in an attic. It's compelling not because Wladek is a hero of sorts but rather because we want to continue rooting for his survival against the evil that is Nazi Germany. The film does an excellent job portraying how cruel the Nazis were- pushing a handicapped man off a roof, randomly shooting people in the head when they did nothing at all, separating and/or killing entire families. The scene of Wladek escaping thanks to the Jewish police, where he stumbles upon the now crumbling Jewish ghetto and just breaks down, devastated, knowing that he may never seem his family again and he is all alone and likely going to be killed, is heartbreaking. It's just an incredibly well-executed film that is very compelling and devastating.