Wladyslaw Szpilman is an accomplished pianist in Warsaw, Poland circa 1939. As he plays a lovely Tchiakovsky piece in the Warsaw Radio studio, bombs begin to fall outside. But, although his engineer has fled, Szpilman doesn't stop until a blast blows in the window and knocks him from the stool.
Throughout the trials and tribulations he faces over the next six years -- as depicted in Roman Polanski's new film, "The Pianist" -- Szpilman (Adrien Brody) refuses to fall off the stool and it is his love for music and the piano -- and his own survival instinct -- that seems to urge him on from day to day, danger to danger.
Based on Szpilman's memoir, published a decade ago, "The Pianist" is among the movies being touted as a potential Oscar winner. Sadly, Szpilman won't be around to accept any honors; he died in 2000.
Szpilman lives in a nice flat with his family and when the Jewish laws begin to be enacted, they react cautiously, but, like so many others, they're keeping a positive outlook, with reservations. The laws begin to become more and more restrictive and it's not long before the Szpilmans must leave their flat for a smaller, dingier one in the newly delineated ghetto. Soon after, bricklayers arrive to build walls and the trains to Treblinka are not far off.
When the engines of those trains are being stoked, Szpilman is saved by a friend in the Jewish police. Although separated from his family, he is given a chance, however slim, of surviving. And, miraculously, he does survive, thanks to his endurance, his luck and a string of people willing to lend a hand.
Throughout his long, solitary hiding, he thinks of the piano and when, in one of his hiding places, he finds a piano he plays it silently, savoring the music in his head.
With extremely violent scenes intermingled with realistic scenes of daily life, Polanski ("Rosemary's Baby," "Tess") powerfully captures the horrific acts committed against Polish Jews and the astonishing casualness with which many were carried out.
Brody, on the other hand, brings to life a man determined to survive, one whose sanity is perhaps saved by the sound of inner music.
At about 2.5 hours, "The Pianist" is a seat-warmer and there's a long road up to the film's main action, but in the end none of it seems superfluous. Those simmering early scenes portray the slowly gathering storm clouds and help us to understand why many failed to grasp the full meaning of the German threat until it was too late.
"The Pianist" opens Fri., Jan. 17 at Landmark's Downer Theatre.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
