The movie follows a professional piano player who lives in Warsaw when the Germans invade in 1939. A few times hope rises, but it takes a long time for real help to arrive in the city. In the meantime, Wladyslaw's entire family is captured. At the train station, he is pulled out of the crowd and has to find a way to survive in the city on his own.
He relies on many people and his own survival instincts to make it. The fate of some of them is unknown, which I found a bit disappointing. Toward the end, he's hiding in a bombed-out building when he's seen by a German officer. When he admits he was a pianist, the officer asks him to play. After the performance, the officer helps Wladyslaw hide until the Germans leave the city. The officer even leaves him his coat.
After the war, Wladyslaw is back to playing the piano. One of his musician friends had a run-in with the German officer, and they try to find him, but it's too late. Then the movie ends, and I found out the officer's name and that he died in a Russian POW camp in 1952. They also mentioned that Wladyslaw's entire family was killed during the war.
The movie was 100% not what I was expecting. I thought it was about something else entirely. Ignoring that, it was an excellent movie and unlike anything I've ever seen. The acting was amazing and the story heartbreaking. The music was used very well, and silence was used in a couple moments that really struck me. I was already wanting to read Wladyslaw Szpilman's book, and now I want to read it even more. The end also revealed the name of the German officer, Wilm Hosenfeld. I'd like to know more about him, but that's going to be a bit harder. I want to give a brief shoutout to Janusz Olejniczak who played the solos for the movie. They were so mesmerizing that I watched the entire credits. I really enjoyed this movie and recommend it. Great Movie!
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