Book vs Movie

Read the book or watch the movie? This is a question I’m sure we all ponder sometimes. Books usually contain a lot more information and allow you to visualize what’s happening in your own mind. Movies, on the other hand, contain the director’s perception of the book but may be more visually appealing. This leads me into today’s blog post. I will be talking about a book I read called The Pianist by Wladyslaw Szpilman and the corresponding film by the same name directed by Roman Polanski. More specifically, I will be focusing on the protagonist – Wladyslaw Szpilman (since it is his memoir) who is played by Adrien Brody in the film. I believe that the film was more effective in communicating character development. This is due to the successful portrayal of the emotions felt by Wladyslaw, the depiction of his most significant character traits, and the use of imagery to help the reader or viewer visualize the events that take place in his life. 

Wladyslaw Szpilman

Adrien Brody, the actor that played Wladyslaw
Szpilman in the film.

                                  VS.











     First of all, the emotions and feelings that occur within Wladyslaw Szpilman are clearly seen better through the movie rather than the book. In the book, Wladyslaw states things very bluntly and it seems like he is simply stating what happened instead of explaining the little details and how he felt. After reading it, I felt like I had just finished reading a timeline of his life – like a history textbook! For example, in a scene near the end of the film where Wladyslaw is told to play a piano by a German officer, he explains, “When I had finished, the silence seemed even gloomier and more eerie than before” (Szpilman 178). Is this really all he has to say after finally being able to play the piano after four brutal years? I thought this was supposed to be a happy and uplifting part of the book! It seems like he cherishes the piano in many parts of the book such as when he is afraid to work outside in the cold since he doesn’t want his fingers to suffer any problems that may ruin his career as a pianist. I was expecting Wladyslaw to be a lot happier and express this in his book a lot better. It left me feeling quite shocked and empty, actually. Kinda like this:

     Although, now that I think about it, it may have been because he found it hard to write about his innermost feelings since he doesn’t want to remember them. Or maybe this memoir wasn’t actually meant to be read by anyone and was solely his personal diary to help him cope with all the craziness that happened in his life. Another possibility is that since he wrote this memoir right after the war, he may have been numb or in shock and wasn’t able to correctly remember how he actually felt. What he went through was definitely horrible and things like this can definitely mess with a person’s head.      

     On the other hand, the movie did a fabulous job showing the emotions and feelings that Wladyslaw was going through during his difficult times. In fact, it deserves this…

     Every second of the film had me in a whirlwind of different emotions. I was happy for the first minute and then I was crying and then angry and then crying and then angry and on and on and on for the full 2 hours and 28 minutes. I absolutely loved the fact that I felt as if I knew Wladyslaw on a personal level and I could feel exactly what he was feeling. This allowed me to connect to the film on a very personal level which I just couldn’t get myself to do with the book. It’s ironic actually since Wladyslaw doesn’t actually talk much throughout the film, it’s actually through his facial reactions and body language that I am able to understand him on a deeper level. 

     In fact, there is a particular scene in the movie where I feel like I can totally understand what he is feeling. It is the same scene I talked about earlier – the piano scene in the end. The scene in the film shows Wladyslaw starting off quite rocky and out of tune on the piano but he eventually starts playing like the brilliant pianist he is. It sounds absolutely beautiful and I think the sound is magnified for its beauty since the viewer is used to hearing bombs, artillery, gun shots and other war sounds. This is an awesome change and really shows how big of a moment this is for Wladyslaw. He gets lost in his playing and I can really feel how he happy he is when he finally gets the chance to play without fear. This is how I looked after watching the scene in the movie:

     I think the reason why this scene is made to be so emotional and touching is because Roman Polanksi, the director, wants to show the importance of the piano. It is obviously an important part of the book as well as Wladyslaw’s life and this scene really ties the piano into the rest of the film. In fact, the piano is made to signify change since the reason why Wladyslaw is saved is because the German officer decides to take care of him by bringing him food (that actually looks delicious) and making sure he is safe. The fact that he plays the piano seems to be what finally convinces the German officer to help Wladyslaw. Ultimately, the piano is what saves the pianist which is a pretty cool ending for a movie!

     So, clearly the movie depicts Wladyslaw’s emotions a lot better than the book. The movie allows the viewer to feel exactly what the protagonist, Wladyslaw Szpilman is feeling while the book leaves the reader with only a timeline of the events in his life.

     Another point that clearly shows that the film adaptation of The Pianist is more effective at showing Wladyslaw’s character development is through his significant character traits. In the book, Wladyslaw’s character traits are actually quite difficult to decipher since he doesn’t show much emotion or talk about himself. So, the only character traits we are able to see are through the inferences that can be made based on his actions. Some of the character traits I would use to describe him after reading the book are; strong-willed, brave, persistent, and unemotional or inexpressive. He is clearly very strong-willed, brave and persistent since he is able to withstand very brutal times during the Nazi regime that many people wouldn’t be able to. He reminds me of this cat…

     Wladyslaw is able to live in uncertainty since he doesn’t know when he will be free and even if he will be free, but this doesn’t stop him from trying to survive. Also, he is seen as very unemotional guy since he doesn’t really show his feelings during key parts of the book where I thought he would go into detail and explain what was going through his mind. For example, when Wladyslaw talks about the cruel acts carried out by the Germans, he explains, “The Germans went hunting human game for use as workhorses, just as they did all over Europe” (Szpilman 61). The way he says this makes it seem like a normal thing! Using people as workhorses is not normal! I think he downplays the events by simply stating them without his personal feelings which makes the book less appealing to me. Basically, his unemotional attitude actually makes the book seem very ordinary which is pretty scary since 99.9% of the book is based on events that can (or will) scar you for life…

Now let’s talk about the movie!

     In the film, Wladyslaw is a very different person from the one I had imagined while reading the book. Some character traits that can be used to describe him include; brave, persistent, sensitive and emotional. Those last two are completely different from what he was like in the book! In the movie, you get to see that he has a soft side and is actually an emotional guy. He cries several times and clearly shows the pain and sorrow he feels throughout the various hardships he faces. I think this was the perfect way to depict him since he still seemed very strong-willed and persistent but with a soft heart. For example, after his family has departed for the concentration camp, Wladyslaw is seen crying his heart out in the ghetto that was once filled with people and love. Now it’s completely empty and all that’s left are corpses and sorrow. This scene is completely heart-rending and this has a lot to do with the fact that Wladyslaw is crying since he knows his family has just been sent to their death and he isn’t able to do anything about it. The director, Roman Polanski, does a great job with the setting while Adrien Brody, the actor playing the role of Wladyslaw, does an even better job showing his feelings. I think the reason why this was done and Wladyslaw was portrayed as an emotional dude is because it gives the viewer a better chance to be able to walk in his shoes and feel what he felt. This definitely kept me hooked and made me look like Prince for a bit…

     So, the fact that Wladyslaw is seen as an emotional guy in the film allows the viewer to get a better feeling about how he felt throughout the war whereas the memoir only allows the reader to see the strong-willed and persistent side of him. 

     Next, I want to talk about the use of imagery and how it contributes to making the film more effective than the book. The book clearly lacks enough imagery to help the reader get a good idea of how Wladyslaw feels, lives and what he sees. There are simply too many statements and not enough analyses. I had a very hard time trying to recreate what I was reading in my mind. I just needed some more descriptive words and imagery, since without these elements I was just really confused at times…

     For example, when Wladyslaw is talking about the time when a selection was made from his group of Jewish workers regarding who is to stay and who is to be killed, he states, “Those on the left had to lie face-down on the ground. Then he shot them with his revolver” (Szpilman 114). This does not seem like a very significant event in the story due to the lack of imagery used. In fact, this is only one example. Most of the key events that take place in the story are understated and do not contain enough imagery to help the reader visualize them. On the other hand, the film does a phenomenal job incorporating imagery that results in an effective job done to help the viewer get a deeper feel of the movie. In fact, the same scene I talked about in the book was in the movie – just 100 times more effective. In the movie scene, ten workers are told to lie on the ground face-down. Each man is killed through a gunshot to the temple. However, when the German officer reaches the last worker, his revolver runs out of ammunition. This results in the last worker feeling a hint (or pinch) of hope that he may live. But, the officer reloads his gun and kills him. The imagery used through the close-up we see of the last worker when he looks up with hope really adds to the intensity of the moment. In fact, I held my breath for a moment and when he was killed, I felt numb and in shock. This is an interesting plot twist by the director and I think he did it to signify the reality of the German invasion of Poland – that it was simply barbaric. It was not something to be sugar-coated. The numbness I felt was probably how a lot of people – especially Wladyslaw in this case, felt in Poland during the Nazi regime. 

     To end this off, I definitely stand by the fact that the film, The Pianist, was more successful than the book at portraying character progression and growth. This is due to the exceptional depiction of all the emotions and feelings felt by Wladyslaw during the brutal times he is forced to endure amid the Nazi regime which were noticeably lacking in the book. Moreover, the film is more effective due to the portrayal of the significant characteristics seen through Wladyslaw that contribute to our understanding of hiWom. Also, there is enough imagery used in the film to help the viewer see and feel how it must have been like during World War II which the book is deprived of. Lastly, I think the book has a different approach to characterization since it is Wladyslaw’s memoir. This changes everything since he wrote it himself and this may have made it more difficult to utilise elements such as imagery and characterization. The book, however, was directed by a man that was able to read Wladyslaw’s memoir and create his own interpretation of it. The result – a fantastic film.

Works Cited

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jd-22sVAryY 

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          Szpilman, Wladyslaw, and Wilm Hosenfeld. "6 - Dancing in Chlodna Street." The Pianist: 

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          Szpilman, Wladyslaw, and Wilm Hosenfeld. "10 - A Chance of Life." The Pianist: The 

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          Szpilman, Wladyslaw, and Wilm Hosenfeld. "18 - Nocturne in C Sharp Minor." The 

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By: Monique Dosanjh