By far Polanski's best film and of deep personal meaning for him. It's a true account of life in the Warsaw ghettos during WW2. True, there have been alot of films made about the holocaust but for me this is the greatest. Beautiful piano music throughout and the oscar winning performance of Brody make me give this film 10 out of 10. Simply stunning.

The first time I saw the Pianist, I was overwhelmed by what I was watching. I had read the book so I knew what to expect. Most of it was reconstructed, rather than filmed in Warsaw but, because I know Warsaw, I was able to recognise several places - which shows how well it was reconstructed.

Polanski draws you into the horrors of the Warsaw ghetto with a low-key approach to a true story that, at times, becomes unbearable to watch. Like Schindler's List, the educational value of the piece is immense. Western Europeans, especially, cannot be reminded too often of the sheer magnitude of the crimes against humanity committed in their allegedy 'civilised' continent in living memory. You won't see a more important film this year.