I grew up with the notion that genius and madness perennially go hand in hand, and reading Rand helped me romanticize the idea a lot more than I should have. Today, I admire the genius who can hold to his/her sanity.
It is not easy to do so.
This is going to be about two movies. I watched 'Shine' recently, and have to depend on my memory to state what I think of 'The Pianist'. Both of them have pianists from Poland as protagonists. Both are based on true accounts. Both performances won the lead actors Oscars. In the first case, the pianist’s father is a survivor of the holocaust. In the other, the pianist himself is a survivor of the holocaust.
After Shine was released, there was controversy surrounding it with claims that the father had been unfairly portrayed as an extremely authoritarian parent. Geoffrey Rush plays David Helfgott (a child prodigy) whose father survives extermination. The father rebuilds his life in Australia, after the death of his parents. After a point, the movie failed to move me for the father kept asking his son, “Do you want to destroy this family? Is that what you want?” when the lad wants to pursue music in the US on a scholarship. There was never any hint that he would not return to Australia, so it became difficult to digest as to why the father went on and on about him not being there for the family. The pianist rebels eventually and moves to London – the father disowns him for disobeying him. The pianist’s new professor encourages him (much like his old teacher and the author with whom he develops a friendship back in Australia), and he decides to play Rachmaninoff's work – his father was proud to have watched him learn this as a child. He has a mental breakdown post the concert, and is forbidden to play the piano anymore. Watch the movie to see the ‘happy’ ending when he meets an astrologer, marries her, and receives public acclaim again.
In the meantime, here’s something for you.
Roman Polanski’s The Pianist is about the life of Władysław Szpilman who survived the Nazi rule. This man gets separated from his family, is the only man to live in abandoned Warsaw, and is about to be killed by the Polish Army when he is dressed in a German coat – but he survives. I remember being impressed with the authenticity lent to the look, and how moved I was at the end of the movie. Adrien Brody became the youngest actor to win the Oscar for his performance.
Highly recommended.
It is not easy to do so.
This is going to be about two movies. I watched 'Shine' recently, and have to depend on my memory to state what I think of 'The Pianist'. Both of them have pianists from Poland as protagonists. Both are based on true accounts. Both performances won the lead actors Oscars. In the first case, the pianist’s father is a survivor of the holocaust. In the other, the pianist himself is a survivor of the holocaust.
After Shine was released, there was controversy surrounding it with claims that the father had been unfairly portrayed as an extremely authoritarian parent. Geoffrey Rush plays David Helfgott (a child prodigy) whose father survives extermination. The father rebuilds his life in Australia, after the death of his parents. After a point, the movie failed to move me for the father kept asking his son, “Do you want to destroy this family? Is that what you want?” when the lad wants to pursue music in the US on a scholarship. There was never any hint that he would not return to Australia, so it became difficult to digest as to why the father went on and on about him not being there for the family. The pianist rebels eventually and moves to London – the father disowns him for disobeying him. The pianist’s new professor encourages him (much like his old teacher and the author with whom he develops a friendship back in Australia), and he decides to play Rachmaninoff's work – his father was proud to have watched him learn this as a child. He has a mental breakdown post the concert, and is forbidden to play the piano anymore. Watch the movie to see the ‘happy’ ending when he meets an astrologer, marries her, and receives public acclaim again.
In the meantime, here’s something for you.
Roman Polanski’s The Pianist is about the life of Władysław Szpilman who survived the Nazi rule. This man gets separated from his family, is the only man to live in abandoned Warsaw, and is about to be killed by the Polish Army when he is dressed in a German coat – but he survives. I remember being impressed with the authenticity lent to the look, and how moved I was at the end of the movie. Adrien Brody became the youngest actor to win the Oscar for his performance.
Highly recommended.
