Oh boy. I knew this was coming. A Roman Polanski film. If you don't understand my exasperation, read on a little further, and I will explain my dislike for Polanski.
The Pianist, released in 2002, was nominated for seven Oscars, bringing home three for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Adrien Brody), Best Director (Roman Polanski), Best Writing-Adapted Screenplay (Ronald Harwood). Adrien Brody is the youngest actor ever to win the Best Actor in a Leading Role award at age 29. The movie was further nominated for Best Picture, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, and Best Film Editing. The film gathered 57 wins from 2002-2010. The Pianist is based on the autobiographical book of the same name, released in 1946. The Pianist (the book) is a Holocaust memoir written by the Polish-Jewish pianist and composer Władysław Szpilman, a Holocaust survivor. The movie was directed by a Polish-French film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor: Roman Polanski. In 1969, his pregnant wife, the actress Sharon Tate, and four friends were murdered by members of the Manson Family. Then in 1977, he was arrested for statutory rape. He fled the United States to Paris, and as a result, Polanski is a fugitive from the U.S. criminal justice system. Because he is a fugitive, he did not attend the Oscars to accept his award.
As mentioned earlier, Adrien Brody plays the leading role of Władysław Szpilman in The Pianist. The supporting cast changes from one act to another, but since this essay talks about his family, we'll focus on the first act's. The late Frank Finlay, Maureen Lipman, Ed Stoppard, Julia Rayner, and Jessica Kate Meyer play the Szpilman family. Filming primarily took place in the Babelsberg Studios in Berlin and the streets of Warsaw. The movie revolves around the survival of Władysław Szpilman throughout the destruction of the Warsaw ghetto of World War II. Rated as the 34th best movie on IMDb, the film pulls at everyone's hearts. The symbol of family plays a significant role throughout the film, not only in the first act. What does the caramel symbolize, and how does it change meaning towards the film's end?
After Władysław obtained employment certificates for his family members, the German soldiers announced that everyone living in the Warsaw ghettos must pack their things and prepare to leave. Terrified, the Szpilmans pack their suitcases and count their last zlotys as they're told to head to the train station and await further directions. Once they arrive, they see the citizens of the ghettos crying and mourning on the train station floor. As they wait to be packed on a train heading to concentration camps, a young boy walks around selling cream caramels. Mr. Szpilman ushers him over to them and asks how much it costs. It's 20 zlotys, equivalent to 5 American dollars. Checking his wallet, Mr. Szpilman notices he only has 10 zlotys remaining. Hence, he pools the money from everyone in the family. They buy one cream caramel using all their remaining money. Mr. Szpilman took the caramel and cut it up using a penknife from his pocket. The small caramel was split into six pieces for each family member. Here, the caramel represents the family's determination to share and enjoy each other's company, even in the most desperate times. It's a tragic yet moving symbol of family togetherness, a sign that no matter what happens, they're always there for each other.
The sign that the Szpilmans pooled together their money to spend on the caramel also foreshadows their situation. The audience knows that the Szpilmans likely won't come back alive wherever they go, and in some sense, Mr. Szpilman knows this too. He knows that no matter where he goes, the money they have won't save them, especially so little of it. The act of giving the money to the boy to buy one last joy is also indicative of family togetherness on the cusp of separation but also symbolizes trauma, grief, and death. However, at the end of the day, The Pianist is a story that follows Władysław Szpilman. A Polish soldier spared his life from the train station who urges Władysław to run far away and save himself. Hesitant at first, Władysław takes his advice and leaves. His running away and leaving his family behind represent the central theme in The Pianist. Survival.
Even though family plays the dominant role in the first act, the theme of survival overpowers. Władysław knew that his family would never forgive him if he didn't do anything and everything in his power to survive. The symbol of the caramel is a bittersweet one. It means family togetherness and is the last happy moment they share as a family, but in the end, one piece runs away from the rest. Władysław. No one can blame him. That's just what life was like then. Cruel, unforgiving, and a rat race to the end.
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