Gommel: The Pianist the book and the film

A modern use of artistic expression as a setting for the production of The Pianist

Bert Cardullo queried in his article, Shoot the Piano Player, whether we should have “a continual flow of films about the subject” of the holocaust? He infers that these images are already etched in our memory. This question I feel is not necessarily for the general public, it should be posed to those that lived through the ordeal in a tyrannical society, and to their descendants, as well as to the artists or film makers. Survivors should have an outlet to express their stories. The experiences of those involved are all so unique for they came from so many different paths of life; so there is always some new perspective to be seen. As was seen in The Pianist, books are so much more detailed and true to life than the film which Cardullo argues is a morality play. Degradation after degradation was read about in the books from simply having to bow to the SS to seeing innocent people shot in the street for sport. Since people are basically cognitive misers though, many more are likely to view a film than read a book. The psyche of humanity wants to forget anything painful, so maybe we need reminders of the past atrocities in tyrannical societies. Though films will not reflect the intensity of the first-hand account, they have value. As Elie Wiesel said, “I have tried to keep memory alive…Because if we forget, we are guilty, we are accomplices (Night 118).”

In regards to The Pianist, I found the article interesting by Alexander Stein when he spoke of the intrapsychic function of musicians in trauma. Time, memory and fantasy are enhanced. Music can bring one back in time or excel them forward, as well as stop time. Szpilman spent so much time in isolation it was advantageous for him to have his music to pass the time to maintain his sanity. Music was his hope and consolation as it could actually lift him out of the place he was in and transport him to another place in time, as he expressed he would rehearse all his compositions in his head. I experienced this effect of being transported to another place in time when I was diagnosed with cancer. So, I can attest Stein’s analysis. It was not necessarily through music for me, though it did also have a profound impact. It was just by telling myself you won’t always feel the pain that you do at this moment. It will be better later, or tomorrow, or next week. In a few months you won’t even remember how this pain felt, if you even remember it at all. It was a coping mechanism that gave me hope to persevere by forwarding myself in time - thirteen years ago.

Stein also spoke of a metaphysical relationship musicians have with their instrument and score and psychosexual development. In the film, Szpilman has a woman friend that is not in the book. As I watched the film I wondered if she represented Szpilman’s music. In the book Szpilman often worried about his fingers being destroyed. Though he was starved and freezing, his main concern was taking care of his hands, keeping his fingers warm. Music was Szpilman’s life, especially now that he no longer had a family; so preserving his fingers would afford him the ability to live out the life he so loved. In the movie I noticed that Dorota would bring him sustenance, compassion, company, understanding and a physician to care for him so he would be able to survive (to be reunited with his music again.) She gave him hope. All the things one would do for a beloved. Music was Szpilman’s beloved and his hope that gave him the desire to survive. Music was his sustenance that befriended him bringing him joy (as we saw him beaming at the end of the movie.) It is what kept him company as he lay quietly in hiding rehearsing all the notes in his head. So, I didn’t find this falsity in the film appalling (as did Cardullo), but an artistic expression. Another point about comparing Dorota to Szpilman’s music is that before he went into hiding, she excited him and he desired to be with her when he saw her on the streets. However his friend said it would only get her killed if you spoke with her. So he had to be silent; just as his music had to be silenced while in hiding.

Though artists have a special way of capturing a moment in time, I don’t believe it gives them the right to get away with hurting other people. Everyone deserves dignity and should not be allowed to be a pawn to an artistic person’s whims. Roman Polanski’s behavior with a thirteen year old brought this question to the forefront. However in his case he stated he did not realize the girl’s age and it was consensual and the girl dropped the charges. However the judge didn’t. But when it comes to immoral behavior just because one is normally held in high regard, influential, rich or talented this should not deter prosecution. They may be gifted, but the Germans thought their race was greater than any other and we saw the negative repercussions of that mindset. Their behavior towards those regarded as “other” devalued them as people and led to gross atrocities contrary to basic human dignity.