History YMMV / ThePianist

* OvershadowedByControversy: The debate about whether or not Creator/RomanPolanski should have been awarded the Best Director Oscar for this film can sometimes overshadow the film itself. On the one hand there's those who simply agree that yes, Polanski was a fully deserving winner. Others see his award as either a ConsolationAward for his even more highly-regarded works earlier in his career, or a DarkHorseVictory resulting from two of the other Best Director candidates (most likely Creator/MartinScorsese and Rob Marshall) splitting the vote. And then there's those who feel that due to his controversial past, Polanski should not be considered for an Oscar or any other award.

* OneSceneWonder: The woman who nearly exposes Szpilman is memorable for being incredibly loud and vile.

*** Of course, it becomes far less funny when you know a thing or two about the life in occupied Poland and are thus aware that expecting a crippled man to stand up (and killing him when he doesn't) would ''definitely not'' be the most sick way of toying with their victims that Nazis came up with during their "stay". And when you notice that "weird scream" is actually produced by Mrs Szpilman, before she's silenced by one of her daughters. There's nothing weird about screaming when you witness a man getting brutally murdered ''for fun''.

-->Szpilman: *wearing Hosenfeld's coat* Don't shoot, don't shoot! I am Polish!
-->Polish Soldier 1: Yes, he's Polish.
-->Polish Soldier 2: Why the fucking coat?

-->Szpilman: I'm cold...

** Many people actually admit ''laughing'' when an old Jewish man in a wheelchair is [[DestinationDefenestration thrown to his death in the ghetto street from a balcony]] by German soldiers while it's no laughing matters at all. The scene's timing makes it involuntarily comedic, not to mention the absurd demand of the German officer to the man (ordering him to stand up while he physically can't), and the weird scream heard while the old man is falling produces some VocalDissonance.

* SugarWiki/CrowningMomentOfFunny: Yes, even a grim and depressing movie like this has a chuckle-worthy moment.

* TearJerker: It's a Holocaust movie. It's to be expected.
** In particular, "I wish I knew you better."
** The boy gathering food on the outside being beaten to death while halfway through the hole.
** Szpilman being separated from his family, specially his father. It's the last time he sees them, as they are all put on a train that's heading for a death camp.
** The way Szpilman clutches to the jar of pickles that he finds.
** The fate of Captain Wilm Hosenfeld, who actively hid and helped Szpilman in the final days of the war. When he hears Szpilman is in a Polish camp nearby, he pleads to a Polish soldier to tell Szpilman that he's there, and that he'll vouch for the captain. By the time Szpilman gets there, the German prisoners are gone. The movie's epilogue says that the last thing known about him is that he died in a Soviet prisoner-of-war camp in 1953.

** Szpilman's brother Henryk is well-liked, paticularly for his suggestions in the scene where the family argues abotu where to hide their possesions.

* OvershadowedByControversy: The debate about whether or not Creator/RomanPolanski should have been awarded the Best Director Oscar for this film can sometimes overshadow the film itself. On the one hand there's those who simply agree that yes, Polanski was a fully deserving winner. Others see his award as either a ConsolationAward for his even more highly-regarded works earlier in his career, or a DarkHorseVictory resulting from two of the other Best Director candidates (most likely Creator/MartinScorsese and Rob Marshall) splitting the vote. And then there's those who feel that due to his... [[Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment past transgressions]], Polanski should not be considered for an Oscar or any other award.

* {{Narm}}: Many people actually admit ''laughing'' when an old Jewish man in a wheelchair is [[DestinationDefenestration thrown to his death in the ghetto street from a balcony]] by German soldiers while it's no laughing matters at all. The scene's timing makes it involuntarily comedic, not to mention the absurd demand of the German officer to the man (ordering him to stand up while he physically can't), and the weird scream heard while the old man is falling produces some VocalDissonance.
** The scene where a starving Szpilman tries to open a can of pickles plays more like a LooneyTunes skit than what has up to this point been a seriously depressing wartime drama. Whole cinemas were literally in tears of laughter watching it, only to [[MoodWhiplash nearly choke on it]] when Hosenfeld entered the picture and before it was established he was a [[TokenGoodTeammate token good Nazi.]]

** The old man taking care of a bunch of local children who [[RefugeeInAudacity gets away with mocking the Naiz's by not acting serious]].

* EnsembleDarkhorse: Wilm Hosenfeld.
* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: Japan was the film's highest grossing foreign market. In fact, the film made almost as much money in Japan as it did in North America.

-->Polish Soldier: Da, he is Polish. Why the fucking coat?

* {{Narm}}: Many people actually admit ''laughing'' when an old Jewish man in a wheelchair is [[DestinationDefenestration thrown to his death in the ghetto street from a balcony]] by German soldiers while it's no laughing matters at all. The scene's timing makes it involuntarily comedic, not to mention the absurd demand of the German officer to the man (ordering him to stand up while he physically can't), and the scream of a woman while the old man is falling produces a weird VocalDissonance.

* {{Narm}}: Many people actually admit ''laughing'' when an old Jewish man in a wheelchair is [[DestinationDefenestration thrown to his death in the ghetto street from a balcony]] by German soldiers while it's no laughing matters at all. The scene's timing makes it involuntarily comedic, not to mention the absurd demand of the German officer to the man (ordering him to stand up while he physically can't), and the weird scream of a woman while the old man is falling produces VocalDissonance.

** Szpilman being separated from his family, specially his father, who are all put on a train that's heading for a death camp.

* {{Narm}}: Many people actually admit ''laughing'' when an old Jewish man in a wheelchair is [[DestinationDefenestration thrown to his death in the ghetto street from a balcony]] by German soldiers while it's no laughing matters at all. The scene's timing makes it involuntarily comedic, not to mention the absurd demand of the German officer to the man (ordering him to stand up while he physically can't), and the weird scream while the man is falling produces VocalDissonance.

--> Spzilman: Wait! Wait! I'm Polish!
--> Soldier: Then why the fucking coat?

--> Spzilman: Because I was cold.

* CrowningMomentOfFunny: Yes, even a grim and depressing movie like this has a chuckle-worthy moment.