The Pianist Page #16

He turns a corner.

EXT. COURTYARD, JEHUDA'S STREET - EVENING

Szpilman comes into the courtyard. He stops, his face blank.

Lying outside the door, the bodies of Jehuda, Mrs. Zyskind,

their two sons and the toddler. Szpilman steps across the

bodies.

INT. JEHUDA ZYSKIND'S ROOM - EVENING

Chaos. Papers, pamphlets strewn all over the place. The

mimeograph smashed.

Szpilman enters, stands, surveying the devastation.

Distant sounds of shooting, shouts, cries.

He gathers up some papers in a pile, takes off his jacket

and covers the pile of papers, making a pillow. He lies

down on the floor.

He stares into the darkness, expressionless, empty.

EXT. STREET NEAR CAFE NOWOCZESNA - DAY

Szpilman shuffles along, comes to the cafe. No sign of

life, but the door is wide open. He goes inside.

INT. CAFE NOWOCZESNA - DAY

A shambles. Szpilman wanders through the upturned tables,

broken chairs. Stops, looks about. Nothing.

Distant shots, automatic fire.

He turns and makes for the door. Then he hears an urgent

hiss. He turns sharply and tries to find the source of it.

He hears the hiss again.

Now he sees, hiding under the platform, Benek, beckoning

to him. Szpilman hurries over and crawls on his back until

he's beside him. Benek replaces a plank and they are hidden

from view.

INT. UNDER THE PLATFORM, GHETTO CAFE - DAY

Thin slivers of light illuminate the two men on their backs

in the cramped space.

BENEK:

(looking at him,

mystified)

Why are you here, Mr. Wladek?

SZPILMAN:

It's like this... I...we...all of

them.

He can't continue. Benek nods.

BENEK:

Perhaps they're lucky. The quicker

the better.

(Brief pause.)

It isn't over yet. We'll stay here

for a couple of days. Until things

die down.

(Another pause)

I've bribed a policeman. He'll

come when it's over.

EXT. GHETTO STREET - DAY

In bright sun, Szpilman and Benek march in a column, four

abreast, under the command of two Jewish foremen, guarded

by two German policemen. They are being marched out of the

ghetto gates.

SZPILMAN:

(to Benek)

My God. I haven't been outside for -

it must be two years.

FELLOW WORKER:

(on the other side

of him)

Don't get over-excited.

EXT. ZELAZNA BRAMA SQUARE - DAY

Street traders with baskets full of wares, fruit,

vegetables, fish, tins of preserves. Women bargain with

them, making purchases. Lively, colourful. Dealers in gold

and currency calling monotonously.

DEALERS:

Gold, buy gold! Dollars! Roubles!

Later:

Szpilman, on top of a free-standing scaffold, Benek and

the others demolishing a ghetto wall, wielding skdgehammers.

They work slowly.

A smartly dressed young couple are passing, but stop.

They stare. The young woman is extremely attractive and

knows it. The foremen, workers and the German policemen

ogle her.

THE YOUNG WOMAN:

Look - oh, do look!

Her young man is puzzled; she points.

THE YOUNG WOMAN:

Jews!

THE YOUNG MAN:

Can't be the first time you've

ever seen Jews.

Embarrassed, she giggles and they go. Szpilman, Benek and

the others continue to work.

The foremen sit, sunning themselves, and the German

policemen stand, deep in conversation, ignoring the workers.

Szpilman suddenly stops work. He has seen something in the

square that alerts him.

At the furthest stall, he sees a woman, attractive, chic,

in her thirties, buying vegetables at a stall. Her name

is JANINA GODLEWSKA.

Surreptitiously, Szpilman raises a hand, trying to catch

her attention. But he's frightened of alerting the German

policemen and the foremen. Benek has noticed.

BENEK:

Someone you know?

SZPILMAN:

Yes.

Again Szpilman tries, but Janina, her profile to him,

doesn't see.

BENEK:

A beauty. Who is she?

SZPILMAN:

A singer. Her husband's an actor.

I knew them well. Good people. I'd

like to talk to her.

BENEK:

(playful)

Don't forget, Mr. Wladek, they

hang them for helping Jews.

He goes back to work.

The German policemen wander over to one of the stalls to

buy fruit. The moment they do so two Jewish workers scamper

across to another stall to buy bread.

Szpilman glances across the square: Janina is still at the

stall.

He comes to a decision. He jumps down, is about to dash

towards Janina, but stops dead.

Janina is no longer there.

EXT. GHETTO STREET - DAY

As before, Szpilman and Benek march towards the ghetto

gates in the demolition column, four abreast, under the

command of the Jewish foremen and guarded by the two German

policemen.

Rate this script:3.8 / 17 votes