QWhat happened to the boy who was trapped under the wall while Szpilman was trying to help him? What was the boy doing?
AIn his book, Szpilman says that, when he was finally able to drag the boy out of the drain, he was already dead because he'd been beaten so badly that his spine was completely crushed. The boy was smuggling goods under the wall, like the other boy Szpilman saw moments earlier that ran away -- they were small enough to fit through the drains that had been built into the bases of the walls, so smuggling things like food and other supplies was easy for them. Unfortunately, the boy found by Szpilman was caught by a German man on the other side of the wall, likely a German soldier or SS officer, and was being beaten when he was found.
QWas Adrien Brody really playing the piano?
AYes and no. Brody wasn't green at playing the piano, as he had taken piano lessons as a child. He admits, however, that he had to study every day for several months to play the Chopin pieces that he was shown playing in the movie because director Roman Polanski wanted the scenes to be realistic and did not want to rely on handovers. Basically, when you see Brody playing piano, he is really playing the piece. When you see hands, it is the famous Polish pianist Janusz Olejniczak. So, Brody performed Nocturne in C# minor in the opening scenes when the radio station was bombed as well as in his return to the radio after the Holocaust. [NOTE: It is said that the real Szpilman did the same; that is, he opened his return to Polish radio with Chopin's Nocturne in C# minor, the same selection he was playing during the 1939 bombing. Watch Brody's face for a wince at that actual moment.] Brody also did the first several bars when playing for the Nazi commander Wilm Hosenfeld (Thomas Kretschmann) as well as the opening bars of Grande Polanise Brilliante, Op 22 during the closing credits.
QHow much sex, violence, and profanity are in this movie?
AFor detailed information about the amounts and types of (a) sex and nudity, (b) violence and gore, (c) profanity, (d) alcohol, drugs, and smoking, and (e) frightening and intense scenes in this movie, consult the IMDb Parents Guide for this movie. The Parents Guide for The Pianist can be found here.
Share this
