Director
Roman Polanski
Leading Actors/Actresses
Adrien Brody
Supporting Actors/Actresses
Ed Stoppard, Frank Finlay, Maureen Lipman, Emilia Fox
Genre
Biography, Drama
Language
English, German
Awards
Won three Academy Awards for Best Director, Best Actor in a Leading Role, Best Writing–Adapted Screenplay
Date of Release
2002
Producer
Robert Benmussa, Roman Polanski, Alain Sarde
Setting and Context
Warsaw, Poland 1939-1945 during World War II
Narrator and Point of View
POV is that of Wladyslaw Szpilman, primarily
Tone and Mood
Serious, Dramatic, Suspenseful, Disturbing, Moving
Protagonist and Antagonist
Protagonist is Wladyslaw and antagonists are the Nazis
Major Conflict
The Nazi regime has bombed and taken over Warsaw, forcing the Jewish people into ghettos before shipping them off to death camps. Szpilman, the protagonist, manages to escape, but must survive under highly tense and difficult conditions.
Climax
Szpilman is rescued by Polish and Russian soldiers who have driven out the Nazis.
Foreshadowing
The Germans marching into Warsaw the morning after the Szpilman family toast to help being on the way foreshadows that help is, in fact, a long way away.
Understatement
Much of the response to the violence in the film is understated by the characters who must focus solely on staying alive and cannot waste time on mourning the dead or processing their trauma.
Innovations in Filming or Lighting or Camera Techniques
Allusions
Allusion to Shakespeare, classical music.
Paradox
Szpilman manages to escape from the trains that would take him to the death camps, but it separates him from his family. Also, surviving in Warsaw is not as easy as it seemed.
Parallelism
Wladyslaw playing piano at the end of the film parallels his playing at the very opening of the film.
