preface:
The Pianist is a war film directed by Roman Polanski and starring Adrian Brody, Emilia Fox, Micho Zambrowski, and Ed Stoopard.
The film tells the story of a talented composer and pianist, Valladislau Spielmann, who insisted on playing live on the radio before the Nazi occupation. However, during those days of white terror, he was under the threat of death all day and had to hide around to avoid falling into the clutches of the Nazis.
He was plagued by hunger and humiliation in warsaw's Jewish quarter. Here, even when all the things he loves have to be given up, he still lives tenaciously. He escaped carpet searches and hid in the ruins of the city.
Fortunately, his musical talent touched a German officer, and under the protection of the officer's death, the pianist finally survived the end of the war and ushered in the dawn of freedom.
His courage earned him a great reward, and with the help of everyone, he found the art he loved.
"The Pianist" received rave reviews after its release, with Douban ratings as high as 9.1, which shows that it is a very successful work with relatively high artistic value. The film does not have magnificent war scenes but can truly feel the cruelty of war, and without fiery emotional pouring, it can truly experience the warm emotions between people. Therefore, the film can be said to be a war film, it can also be said to reflect human nature, and it can also be said to be a survival film on how individuals save their lives in wartime.
This article will recreate the cruelty of war and the complexity of human nature during world war from the film's unique narrative structure through the survival of the characters.
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > narrative structure: with Spielmann's survival experience as the bright line and the music in the plot as the dark line, the combination of the two complements each other, which not only completely narrates the story but also shows the character image, and finally reasonably expresses the theme connotation</h1>
The film "The Pianist" takes Spielmann's survival experience during the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany as the main line, and inserts the music corresponding to it as a side line at the corresponding stage of the survival process, which is a perfect fit, which not only constructs a complete plot but also implies the awakening of the male protagonist's personal consciousness in the process of survival.
1. Sypiermann's survival experience in the dead: from ignorance and compromise to passive escape to inner awakening, reflecting the image of the characters at different times.
A. Yitzhak's bailout reflects Spielmann's ignorant compromise.
When the Germans invaded Warsaw, Poland, forcing the Jews step by step to the point of death, Spielmann and the vast majority of Jews kept making concessions and compromises. Until the family is caught on the death train, he is rescued by his acquaintance (Jewish traitor) Yitzhak, who embarks on the road to escape and survival, and enters a labor concentration camp.
B. Escape from the labor camp, reflecting his passive escape path. With the help of her old friend Yanina's husband friend Marek, she lives in seclusion in a building near the Jewish Quarter. Originally there were plans for an uprising in the labor camp, and his early escape was a kind of passive escape. In their chats with Yanina, their views on the Jewish uprising reveal both his brave side and his passive evasive side.
C. Identity leaked, once again fled to find Dorota: locked back, sitting and waiting. Marek told Spielman that they had been exposed and were going to evacuate, but Spielmann insisted on staying, only to be discovered by a German female neighbor who separated and escaped and found Dorotta's house. With the help of Dorota's husband, he was placed in a building opposite the hospital in german occupation, but the door was unlocked.
D. Jaundice, almost killed. Waiting indefinitely in this building, suffering from jaundice and almost dying, he got the help of Lotta and her husband to save his life.
E. Attic self-help. The hiding place was bombed by the Germans, and he fled to the attic, where he struggled to survive and escaped the disaster.
F. Pretend to be dead and hide again. Due to his unsafe position, Spielmann prepared to flee to the abandoned hospital of the Germans opposite. Crossing the road in the middle of the road suddenly encountered the Germans, in a hurry, he passed the pass by pretending to be dead and came to the hospital in a thrilling way.
G. Jump the wall to escape and come to the quarantine area. The Germans burned down the hospital, and in a hurry, he jumped out of the cave entrance, climbed the wall, jumped off Lee, sprained his foot, and temporarily safely came to the devastated quarantine area, looking for food everywhere.
H. Accidental help of the German Colonel. In the house in the quarantine area, find a jar of watermelon juice and go to the top of the attic to hide. While opening the can, he suddenly met the German colonel, and after playing a piano, the German colonel helped him, giving him food and clothing, and letting him support him until the "liberation" of Warsaw.
I. The danger to life posed by the coat of a German colonel. Because of Spielmann's thin clothes, the German colonel gave him his coat before leaving. After the liberation of Warsaw, he walked out of the attic dressed as a colonel and was nearly shot dead by Soviet soldiers.
At this point, Spielmann's survival experience is all over, and from his escape experience, we can see Spielmann's mental journey. From the initial concession and compromise to passive hiding, fleeing to actively surviving, trying to survive and finally bravely expressing patriotism with the sound of the piano. Although Spielmann was reluctant to be an accomplice of the German Nazis (refusing Totzhak's recruitment), rescued children who climbed the opening of the wall (unsuccessfully, the children were beaten to death by the people inside the wall), and imagined ThatJorik doing a heroic uprising underground, all this was only a manifestation of his good nature, not his active resistance to enslavement and massacre. Until he met the German colonel, he must have thought that he could not escape, so he played a narrative song of the first narrative in G minor by the great Polish patriotic pianist Chopin. This is a flashpoint in the film, a symbol of Spielmann's awakening, and Spielmann, who has been on the run, chooses to be awe-inspiring act of righteousness, and he uses the last moments of his life to express his inner resistance with music.
Through Spielmann's personal escape experience, the film shows the audience the cruelty and ruthlessness of the Nazi German army in the massacre of Jews and the trampling of humanitarianism from his perspective, and profoundly reveals the great disasters and pains brought by the war to people. To call for peace with the cruelty of war and to emphasize the beauty of peaceful life.
2. The rational emergence of piano music: different hiding places use music to fit Spielmann's state of mind at that time, and to imply the clues of the emotions of the characters in the play.
The film uses more music to assist the development of the plot, as a side line of the development of the plot, to the situation of Spielmann in different periods of wartime, choose different music to express the emotions and moods of the characters, and perfectly solve the boring caused by the war when watching the movie.
A. Chopin: Nocturne in C minor. At the beginning of the film, the pianist records Chopin's Serenade in C minor in the studio. The calm and soothing beginnings, the broad tone of sorrow, and the gradual progression of the music seem to herald the imminent end of the lives of millions of Jews, and the German bombardment also came. This slightly heavier nocturne is also a good foreshadowing of the pain that war brought to this land.
B. Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 1. This is the piece that Spielmann was forced by the war to play as a piano accompaniment in a coffee shop to support his family. There are two scenes in the film where he is interrupted playing the piano, one is when someone asks to pause the piano to listen to the sound of gold coins, and Schirpierman pauses; the other is when his sister comes to him and Henrik is arrested. This is in contrast to the image of the "indifferent artist" at the beginning of the film, who refuses to stop playing even though the studio is attacked by artillery fire, and the war makes him numb. Let him gradually take off the gorgeous cloak of the pianist, he is no different from the mortal, in order to survive.
C. Bach: Prelude to G major for the Cello Suite No. 1. Sipierman was forced to flee and came to Dorotta's house, where in the morning the sun shone softly on the curtains, making you feel more like in a good dream, only warmth, no hooves and guns. Dorotta played Bach's (German) Prelude to the G Major of the Cello Suite No. 1 in a religious and contemplative manner to the little life in her belly. It poured out her longing for the era of human nature, hoping that this era would be born like a new life. Polanski let an artist from an occupied country play the music of the occupier, and he wanted to show that music can transcend race, religion and national boundaries, but also that human nature can transcend race, religion and national boundaries!
D. Chopin: Polish Dance. Dorotta and her husband placed Spielmann in an apartment opposite the German hospital, in a small room, with a piano, but for safety reasons, Spielmann could not play the piano. So there is a scene in the film where Spielman pretends to play. The music that appears here still comes from Chopin, The Polish Dance, a rather imposing prelude to the piece, and although the keys cannot be touched, Spielmann still plays with joy in his eyes, perhaps because of temporary stability or because victory is imminent. You can hear that this magnificent dance song carries an infinite vision for a better future.
E. Beethoven: Sonata of the Moonlight. This was the attic voyage where Spielmann was hiding in the residence of the German command, when he found that the Germans had returned, so he hid in the attic with the can. At this time, the sound of the first movement of Beethoven's (German) Moonlight Sonata was faintly floating downstairs, perhaps played by the German officer Hawthorne Phil later. He played the music coldly and resentfully, full of human feelings, full of pity and helplessness, that is, to imply that he had a musical spirit, that he was an appreciator and sympathizer of art, and that he did not use the murderous nature of other German executioners in his bones.
F. Chopin: Narrative Song No. 1 in G minor. At this time, Spielmann was experiencing the darkest hour before dawn, his last residence destroyed by artillery fire, and he was in rags waiting for victory to come. He cleverly hid in the attic of the German command post, but was discovered by the German officer Hawthorne Fils. Fortunately, Hawthorne did not execute the Jew, and when he learned of Spielmann's occupation, he played a piano piece and asked him to continue to hide in the attic, bringing food and clothing from time to time. Spielmann played Hawthorne's Narrative Song No. 1 in G minor. The history of this piece is not too much to elaborate, and his original author Chopin wrote it on the occasion of the failure of the Warsaw Uprising and the fall of Poland, which has a subtle connection with Schirpiermann's time. We can't tell whether Spielmann's motivation for playing the piece, or what the director wanted to express, whether it was the indomitability of human nature or the spirit of fearless resistance. The First Narrative In G minor is based on Mitskevicht's narrative epic Conrad Wallenlord. In 1828, Conrad Wallenlord was published, recounting the story of the thirteenth-century Lithuanian patriot Valenlord who led the populace against the invading Germanic Crusader knights. Didn't Spielmann choose this piece in an equally unyielding fight against the Nazi demons of the German army, ready to die?
epilogue:
The director inserted the famous music of Chopin, Bach and Beethoven in "The Pianist", and inserted different pieces of music at different periods of Spielmann's escape, which fit the mood of the characters and vent the emotions of the characters. Each capital is chosen just right, which is interlocked with the structure of the film, the transformation of plot and scenes, and the mood of the protagonist. Chopin's music was played by Spielmann, and Bach and Beethoven were played by others. Chopin is Polish, Bach and Beethoven are German, and the director deliberately inserted these music in the film, whether it is intentional or not, it is worth thinking about.