5 Stars
I loved The Pianist for a number of reasons but the supreme reason goes to Władysław Szpilman's storytelling. Szpilman writes down the struggles he had endured to survive, when Warsaw was under occupation by the Nazis. Władysław voice never grows bitter, plus, his emotions never twist to abhorrence, and it’s why, I find myself respecting him so admirably. His story was in no means out of hatred or disgust. His intention was not to spit political statements about WWII. As mentioned on the title, it was solely based on his extraordinary true story to survive when the whole of Europe went into chaos. Not to forget, it was about his determination to live long enough, in the hopes to achieve his dream.
Wladyslaw Szpilman was a polish Jew born in Warsaw. He had three siblings and two loving parents. He was a talented musician growing up; he studied in Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw, Poland and then attended the prestigious Academy of Arts in Berlin, before Hitler was in power. He then worked at a polish radio performing Jazz and classical music. But at 1939, the Nazis invaded Poland and developed a new general government, which established a ghetto in Warsaw, specifically for Jews. Life for Władysław turned into a daily torture. Hunger and illness sweeped every corner of the streets in the ghetto. Senseless hate by the Nazis and unjustified death leads Szpilman to escape, rather than await his death. However survival behind the walls of the Warsaw ghetto - proves to be as difficult as a rapid death.
