Polanski's the Ninth Gate and Term Paper

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.. is, in the end, a sign of its odd sense of mastery. The technical advancements of the film... are unimpeachable and strangely casual" (45). As we learn from Corso, the quest for information leaves us wondering as the final scene in the Ninth Gate does.

Polanski pays special attention to objects, particularly hands, to emphasize their importance. In the Pianist, Szpilman's hands open and close the film, indicating their value to him and his life. The piano is also a significant object as well. It becomes representative of Szpilman's life and survival. How Polanski chooses to convey the significance of the piano is important. Alexander Stein observes that the piano is something with which Szpilman has an intimate relationship. This can be seen in the scene when Szpilman hides in a room with a piano inside. He cannot make a sound so he sits at the piano mimicking the movement of playing with his fingers dancing above the piano keys. Stein maintains, "Polanski's interpretive choice in so structuring this scene bears consideration... It elegantly communicates Szpilman's unconscious reliance upon his intimate relationship with the piano and the vast repertoire of music stored in his memory as a musical-hallucinatory coping mechanism" (Stein). Another scene that depicts this relationship occurs when the Nazi finds Szpilman in the house and asks him to play. Here we see the connection between man and object and understand how that relationship helped the man keep his sanity.

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The soldier's reaction is quite compelling in helping us comprehend the magnitude of the relationship. In the Ninth Gate, we can say that Corso's spectacles become a symbol of the man's ability to reason. We must ask if we believe that Corso sees what he thinks he sees. The relationship between individuals and objects is crucial to understanding the development of each film.

Polanski's talent can be seen in the two very different but powerful films and from each one we can gather a sense of why the director has carved a name for himself in the industry. The Pianist with its drama and real life element force us to look at the life of one man and how he survived. Many would deduce that he did survive because of his hands and what they could do. In the Ninth Gate, we see a man living in a surreal world that understands everything through books and his glasses become significant symbols because he cannot live without them. Both films illustrate Polanski's ability to draw our attention to humanity through objects.

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