Analyse the Cinematography and Camera Movements in the Film The Pianist

The film I have chosen to explore the micro features on is The Pianist (2002) which is directed by Roman Polanski. Polanski assures that the audience gets a sense of belonging to that period of history and gets to explore the theme of discrimination through the characters life risking challenges that they face throughout the film. This micro essay will explore the following features, framing and camera movement in a 5 minute sequence.

The soldier and Szpilman are seen to be quite near to each other in the middle of the frame. As he holds open the door the camera zooms into them, which adds tension to the scene. Szpilman is seen here to be in darkness as if he just blends into the shadows of nothing. However the solider is seen clearly to show his superiority. There is a lot of light towards the soldier, which allows there to be a dark shadow which means that there are 2 sides to him which could be revealed. One door is open and the other is closed. The soldier is placed in front of the opened door which suggests that is he is leading Szpilman into reliving his dream of being a pianist. In the middle of the frame through the doors we see a piano. In front of the piano we see horizontal line of light with some shadows which shows the audience that there is something behind the piano. The fact that the soldier pauses whilst talking to Szpilman with one door open and one closed creates tension. The director has chosen to do this to make the audience suspicious of this mysterious room.

Szpilman is in the centre of the frame with his piano, which could suggest that that is what he got left is important to him. This is the first shot where we see both Szpilman and his piano in the same frame. This shows us how much space both him and t...

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... like Szpilman is gradually getting into that becoming a pianist phase and how the film overall has increased his confidence. The camera then zooms into his hand playing the piano showing the audience what to focus on. One hand has a lot of light towards it whilst the other hand is dark, which could mean that maybe his other hand will be in the light as he continues to play the piano, which is his lifelong dream. Then the camera zooms out showing us what else is in the frame. The director does this to show the audience that we should focus on where the light is coming from. The curtains have quite a detailed pattern on them which suggests that the room might have belonged to a professional and wealthy pianist. This might suggest that Szpilman is almost as if he is bringing the room back to life. This is shown with the different parts of the room covered with light.