Movie Review # 1 - Pianos, Pianists, and Piano Teacher

These films have one thing in common - that is obviously the PIANO. The plot doesn’t necessarily revolve around the piano, but one can distinctly see the piano as a vital role in the film.

The Pianist (Roman Polanski, 2002)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0253474/
The Pianist is what I consider film making at its best. Roman Polanski, a well known director of Chinatown, Rosemary’s Baby, Tess, and others, has given justice to the memoir of Władysław Szpilman, who is a Jewish Polish pianist working for a radio station. This film focuses on the experiences of Szpilman, who is awesomely played by Adrien Brody, before, during, and after the invasion of Poland by Nazis. This is a powerful and heartwarming film of human triumph and will to survive.

My Rating: 10/10


The Piano (Jane Campion, 1993)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107822/

The Piano is a story of love and passion of Ada McGrath (Holly Hunter), a mother who refuses to speak since she was six years old, communicates only through sign language with her child, Flora (Anna Paquin), and most importantly, expresses her emotions through her piano. This film is quite different from typical love stories. Ada, a somewhat rebellious and independent woman, is transported to an island to be married to a stranger (Sam Neil). In there, she found passion and love with another man (Harvey Keitel.) Anyway, I don’t want to spoil the film. Watch it and see the beauty of the film.What I like in the film is Holly Hunter because she acts and expresses her emotions by means of her face. No need for dialogue.

My Rating: 8/10


The Piano Teacher (Michael Haneke, 2001)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0254686/

Weird and unusual. These two adjectives best describe the film. Adapted from the novel of Elfriede Jelinek, The Piano Teaches tells the story of a sadomasochistic piano teacher named Erika who loves to torture her students by verbal abuses and has perverted sexual behaviors – masochism and voyeurism. Throughout the film, the director lets us explore the life of Erika – how she treats her students, how she conducts her perversions, and how she meets an engineering student and becomes “engaged” and “obsessed to him.”

My Rating: 7/10