There are some movies like Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back that lower your opinion of humanity and there are others like Forrest Gump that can raise it. The beauty of The Pianist is that it can do both. Though this is a holocaust film, there are no concentration camps and it is all seen through the eyes of one man with long periods without dialogue. Much has been said about whether Adrien Brody underacted the part or not. I think he did a beautiful job and far from seeming detached from it all, he seemed more shocked and numb to me. If I had to endure what he endured I would probably mentally shut down too. The first part of the film was very hard for me. I had a hard time with Schindler's List and a few scenes in this movie proved very difficult and I'll admit I cried through most of the first half. After Szpilman loses his family, but has his own life spared, he goes on mental auto-pilot and just does what he can to get by. The last half-hour is very moving and makes all the violent scenes near the beginning worthwhile. The thing about this film is that it can do wonders for putting your life into perpective, if even for just a few days. After seeing this film, I realize just how petty most of our problems are in this society and how much we take our civil liberties for granted. Aside from being a beautifully made film, The Pianist sends a powerful message of just how much we have to be thankful for.