THE PIANIST

As I come across more and more gory details of World War 2 and the atrocities (for a lack of a stronger word) of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime, my temple starts throbbing with anger, a feeling which is probably useless, after around 60 years since the end of the war.

But the medium that portrayed them was quite strong, and has made its impact successfully. And thrice.

First was a rare pictorial of the infamous "Ghettos" that the Jews were banished to, and the concentration camps that they eventually ended up in. Shocking living conditions, hard labor and no light at the end of the tunnel - pretty much describes the condition. Shooting dead the "prisoners" and mass burning of bodies due to lack of space, half -burned bodies and brutal medical and surgical experiments on them was a common thing.

The second was a beautiful movie "Life is Beautiful", a love story which touches your heart. No spoilers here - I suggest you watch it.

The third was today - when I saw a movie called "The Pianist" made in 2002, which was an entry into the Cannes festival too. This is the story of a Polish Jew pianist, his passion to play the piano, and how it keeps him alive through the war, where he is sent along with his family to the ghetto. He is separated from his family when they are sent to concentration camps and he is saved by a Jewish policeman, and is engaged in hard labor in the ghetto.

Before you feel sorry for him and angry with the Germans, he escapes and is helped by a Polish and a German couple until they can. And then, he survives in the attic of an old German apartment, uninhabited. A Nazi officer, apparently a music lover, sees him and asks him his profession. Again, his passion for the piano helps him, and the officer shows an unexpected kindness, and he survives the war.

This movie, has been scripted by this very man, for it is not a story, but his real life. His name is Wladyslaw Szpilman, a great Polish pianist and composer. I suggest you watch this touching movie.

As the tagline truly depicts, "Music was his passion. Survival was his masterpiece."