Fresh
Old-fashioned in both visual and narrative style and in its overall restraint, the film clearly benefits from the director's first-hand knowledge of the territory.
Geoff Andrew, Time Out
The Pianist
Music was his passion. Survival was his masterpiece.
2002 · 2h 30m · R
Drama, War
Directed by
Roman Polanski
Overview
The true story of pianist Władysław Szpilman's experiences in Warsaw during the Nazi occupation. When the Jews of the city find themselves forced into a ghetto, Szpilman finds work playing in a café; and when his family is deported in 1942, he stays behind, works for a while as a laborer, and eventually goes into hiding in the ruins of the war-torn city.
Director and cast
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
95%
Tomatometer
Fresh
Brody is a sublimely haunting presence at the heart of The Pianist.
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel
Fresh
It's Roman Polanski's strongest and most personally felt movie.
Peter Rainer, New York Magazine/Vulture
Fresh
In going home to tell Szpilman's story Polanski seems reborn: once again he's become a filmmaker who matters.
David Ansen, Newsweek
Fresh
We admire this film for its harsh objectivity and refusal to seek our tears, our sympathies.
Richard Schickel, TIME Magazine
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