The Pianist depicts the traumatic experience of Wladyslaw Szpilman, a Polish Jewish pianist who lived in Warsaw during World War II. The film follows him through the worsening phases of the Holocaust to relay a devastating period of unfathomable suffering. While Szpilman’s story is impossibly powerful in its own merit, the director masterfully conveys such haunting experience in a way that unfailingly affects the viewer. The most notable cinematic technique was the recurring juxtaposition of beauty and horror. This was particularly present in the film’s audio, which layered dulcet, melodious orchestral arrangements over scenes of barren ghettos and human suffering. Such striking contrasts further emphasized the emotional weight of already jarring scenes of cruelty and destruction. The flowing, emotive piano accompaniment demonstrates the peak of man’s enlightenment, such talent being the result of tireless dedication and civilized expression. This exhibition of beauty and craft breaks only for stark silence and the sounds of war. The visuals of war and poverty-stricken Jewish ghettos, on the other hand, demonstrate man’s most depraved side. Graceful melodies accompany scenes of Szpilman at the brink of survival, facing an unimaginable weight of human suffering and loss. In a particularly powerful scene, Szpilman sits down in front of a piano in his current hideout, but only moves his fingers over the keys in order to avoid drawing attention to himself. Nonetheless, sweeping piano music accompanies the scene. Szpilman has been stripped of his family, his property, and his passion. Moreover, he has been reduced to a shell of his previous self through hard labor, starvation, and unremitting fear. Against the barren, dimly-lit apartment and nearby sounds of war, the music emphasizes just how grim Szpilman’s surroundings have become. While the music is rich with warmth, emotion, and individuality, Szpilman’s life is devoid of any such comfort, freedom, or sense of self. The stark contrast between the visuals and audio of such a scene highlights the extent of the Nazi’s inhumanity, while reminding viewers of the remaining humanity left in Szpilman and the other remaining victims.