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It is a great film. I don't like to watch
holocaust films, and don't really care to see any more of them, but
this film managed to show me some new aspects of the Nazi conquest,
even though I've seen so many films and read so many books on this
subject:
- Polanski's vision of Szpilman walking alone through
the deserted, silent, bombed-out streets of Warsaw is a picture that I
had never seen or imagined. It could easily have come from a
post-apocalyptic science fiction film.
- It was interesting to see how people profiteered
unscrupulously from even the bleakest of circumstances. One swindler
in the Polish underground was going from door to door collecting
significant goods and money on the pretext of feeding and clothing the
great pianist while he was in hiding. But Szpilman never benefited
from the donations. In fact, the con man told Szpilman that he brought
no food because he had nothing left to sell, and in so doing managed
to talk Szpilman out of his own watch!
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Adrien Brody took his career to a new level with
this performance, which is sure to receive recognition in various
award competitions. I think everyone in the industry was aware that he
was a talented young man, but not this talented. This was an
exceptionally difficult role to play with subtlety, and he nailed it.
He had to go for long stretches when he was the only person on camera,
and had no one to talk to, yet he was still able to mesmerize the audience
with his facial expressions and body language as he reacted to current
events and recalled prior incidents in his life.
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The
Critics Vote
- The reviews from the British critics were surprisingly
tepid, averaging only about three stars. Daily Mail 6/10,
Daily Telegraph 8/10, Independent 7/10, The Guardian
8/10, The Times 8/10, The Sun 10/10, The Express 6/10,
The Mirror 8/10, BBC 4/5
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The People
Vote ...
- IMDB summary.
Voting results: IMDb voters score it an astronomical 8.5/10
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It was budgeted at $35 million for production. It grossed
$32 million in the USA.
Awards ...
The film was nominated
for the Golden Globe as the best drama. It was nominated for
seven Oscars, and won three major ones (Actor, Director,
Screenplay). It was nominated for seven BAFTAs and won two,
including Best Film. It
won various other prizes and nominations, including the
Palme d'Or at Cannes.
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| The meaning of the IMDb
score: 7.5 usually indicates a level of
excellence equivalent to about three and a half stars
from the critics. 6.0 usually indicates lukewarm
watchability, comparable to approximately two and a half stars
from the critics. The fives are generally not
worthwhile unless they are really your kind of
material, equivalent to about a two star rating from the critics.
Films rated below five are generally awful even if you
like that kind of film - this score is roughly equivalent to one
and a half stars from the critics or even less,
depending on just how far below five the rating
is. My own
guideline: A means the movie is so good it
will appeal to you even if you hate the genre. B means the movie is not
good enough to win you over if you hate the
genre, but is good enough to do so if you have an
open mind about this type of film. C means it will only
appeal to genre addicts, and has no crossover
appeal. (C+ means it has no crossover appeal, but
will be considered excellent by genre fans, while
C- indicates that it we found it to
be a poor movie although genre addicts find it watchable). D means you'll hate it even if you
like the genre. E means that you'll hate it even if
you love the genre. F means that the film is not only
unappealing across-the-board, but technically
inept as well.
Based on this description,
C+. It is an extraordinary movie, but be warned:
it's three hours long, with very little dialogue in the second
half.
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