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Kayla Johnson
Prof. Hirchfelder, K-213
ENG2102, Sec. 06
26 March 2013
Scene Analysis Paper
Musical Dependency The 2002 film, The Pianist directed by Roman Polanski focuses on the hardships of a well-known, local concert pianist, Wladyslaw Szpilman. Wladyslaw Szpilman is played by actor Adrien Brody, who does an excellent job portraying both the warmhearted side of Szpliman and the desperate struggling side we see later on in the film. The film is based on Szpilman’s book, The Pianist where he discusses true events he underwent during the German takeover of Warsaw. He was one of twenty survivors out of the 360,000 Jewish people killed from Warsaw, Poland. “Passion for Survival in Polanski’s The Pianist” by Diana Diamond
Music is often used in films as a background component. It can create a sense of joy, distress, horror, even confidence can be captured with the use of a simple melody. Diamond finds music to be a source of uplift for Szpilman during the overall film. She exclaims, “We see him rescued from the edge of extinction, not only by the altruism of the German officer, but also by his own reconnection with his artistic power” (429). By playing the piano at this time Szpilman is proving to the officer he is who he says he is and therefore, unknowingly saving him in more ways than one. As Szpilman plays the piano after all this time he remembers who is he and that saves him more than anything. Diamond uses multiple examples to show how important music is to Szpilman. The importance of it is, in fact, shown as the first scene of the movie and sets the standard throughout the entire film. “When the Nazi’s invade Warsaw and German bombs explode in the radio studio where Szpilman is performing, he persists in playing Chopin’s nocturne in C sharp minor, refusing to flee until shrapnel lacerates his face” (429). Even through a bomb attack Szpilman will not stop playing until he is given the signal from his partner that he has no other choice. Johnson 4
Many parts of the film also use music at times when words aren’t enough. The film is constantly relating music back to Szpilman’s father. Towards the beginning the family decides to hide their money in the father’s violin. Thus