Best of the Decade #5: The Pianist (2002)

Drawing on his own experiences in war-torn Poland, mastermind Roman Polanski gives us a riveting story of survival told from the point of view of a Polish Jew during the Nazi occupation of Warsaw. It's the famed director's most personal film to date, and marks a soul-rending feat of naturalistic and emotionally naked direction.

Making the most of a terrific sound design and some outstanding photography, Polanski puts us right in the shoes of Wladyslaw Szpilman (very well played by Adrian Brody) has he escapes the Warsaw ghetto by virtue of his cunning and the aid of his friends. Polanski's smartest decision is to not linger too long or deeply in the politics and history of WWII, but to keep focus on the story of Szpilman, his family's ordeal, his ordeal, and his miraculous survival. It's an incredibly compelling human drama that ends in triumph but still leaves us on a sorrowful note, as we contemplate the price at which Szpilman's freedom has come.