The Pianist (2002)

As a classical pianist myself, Roman Polanski's depiction of a Jewish musician struggling to survive through the Holocaust really resonated me.  The film prominently features Chopin's Ballade No. 1, a favorite of mine that I have performed in the past.  Adrien Brody plays (or pretends to play) the piece, along with other pieces by the Polish virtuoso, convincingly.

I would like to compare this film with The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life, the Oscar-winning documentary short.  The documentary depicts the beauty of music amid the horrors of the Holocaust.  It was music that helped the victims persevere.  The Pianist, historically accurate, is based on Wladyslaw Szpilman's autobiography.  On the contrary, he hides in quiet, denied the healing power of music even when he sits right in front of a piano.  When he plays for the patrons of a cafe, his music is ignored.  The movie is heartbreakingly powerful--but don't mistaken it for a movie about music, it is a movie about a musician, a survivor.