THE PIANIST by Ronald Harwood based on the published memoir by Wladyslaw Szpilman Final Draft, 1998 Note: Unless otherwise indicated, all dialogue spoken by Germans will be in the German language and subtitled. FADE IN: INT. WARSAW (ARCHIVE) - DAY Black and white. Street scene. People toing and froing. A man rattles by. SUPERIMPOSE CAPTION: WARSAW 1939 INT. STUDIO, RADIO STATION, WARSAW - DAY WLADYSLAV SZPILMAN plays Chopin's Nocturne in C sharp minor, Posthumous. He's twenty-eight years old, elegant and handsome. In the booth, separated from the studio by a glass screen, an engineer, wearing collar and tie, monitors the broadcast. Behind him, a window to the street with strips of paper taped on it as protection against blast. Without warning, a bomb drops nearby, then another and another. The whole building shudders alarmingly and the window in the booth shatters. The engineer and Szpilman exchange a look as a man enters the booth and talks urgently to the Engineer, then goes. The engineer makes a 'cut-throat' gesture, but Szpilman shakes his head, determined to play on. He plays, then glances at the booth. The engineer has gone, but through the shattered window he sees fires raging. Very near, a loud, terrifying explosion. The reverberations cause plaster to flake and dust to trickle down over his face. And then a bomb explodes even closer. The glass screen separating booth from studio implodes, showering Szpilman with glass. He stops, frozen. INT. STAIRS AND LOBBY, RADIO STATION - DAY Pandemonium. Chaos. People rushing in all directions, many carrying files, boxes, papers, shouting, calling. Some of the men in military uniform. The bombing continuous. Szpilman fights his way down the stairs. He has a small cut on his forehead and is dabbing it with his handkerchief. He has a dazed look. Halfway down the stairs, A young woman, DOROTA, tugs at his sleeve: DOROTA Mr. Szpilman. He turns, to see an extremely pretty young woman gazing adoringly at him while they're jostled and shoved. His eyes light up. SZPILMAN Hello. DOROTA I came specially to meet you today. I love your playing, but what a day to choose. SZPILMAN Who are you? DOROTA My name's Dorota, I'm Jurek's sister. oh! You're bleeding. SZPILMAN It's nothing. JUREK pushes in beside them and takes her arm. JUREK C'mon, Dorota, you can write him a fan letter later, this isn't the best time, c'mon. Jurek, pulling Dorota, fights his way down the stairs. SZPILMAN (calling) Jurek, why have you been hiding her? And he, too, is carried with the flow into the lobby. Debris everywhere. Szpilman fights to get to the main door, when another bomb explodes, filling the air with dust and debris, obscuring him and everyone else. INT. WARSAW APARTMENT - DUSK The Szpilman family in panic: coming and going out of rooms, packing clothes and belongings into open suitcases and a trunk in a comfortable, tastefully furnished bourgeois apartment, the living room lined with books, paintings and boasting a boudoir grand, silver platters and candlesticks. The family consist of MOTHER, in a state of great anxiety, FATHER, REGINA, twenty-six, HALINA, twenty-two, and HENRYK, twenty-four, the only one not in movement. He sits by the radio set, ear to the speaker, trying to tune to a station. No bombs now, just the distant sound of artillery fire. Father, holding a silver-framed photograph, crosses to Mother. FATHER What you think, should I take Uncle Szymon's photograph? MOTHER Take it, don't take it, take what you like. Can't you see I'm worried sick? FATHER He'll come home, he'll be all right. He goes into his room. She can barely control her tears and hurries into the kitchen just as the front door opens and Szpilman enters, looks round bemused by the activity. REGINA Mama, Wladek's home. Mother dashes out of the kitchen. MOTHER Thank God - Wladek! You're wounded. SZPILMAN It's a little cut, nothing. MOTHER I've been worried sick. HENRYK I told her not to worry. You had your papers on you. If you'd been hit by a bomb, they'd have known where to take you. The girls suppress smiles. MOTHER Henryk, don't say things like that, God forbid, God forbid. HALINA (calling through a door) Papa, Wladek's home. Father appears in the doorway, beaming, clutching a violin case. FATHER What did I tell you? SZPILMAN (looking around the room, bemused) What are you doing? REGINA What's it look like we're doing? The toing and froing continues non-stop. SZPILMAN (to Henryk) They bombed us, we're off the air. HENRYK Warsaw's not the only radio station. MOTHER Pack, darling, get your things, pack. SZPILMAN Where are we going? MOTHER Out of Warsaw. SZPILMAN Out of Warsaw. Where? REGINA You haven't heard? SZPILMAN Heard what? REGINA Haven't you seen the paper? Where's the paper? She starts to look. The others continue to bustle and pack. HALINA I used it for packing. REGINA (exasperated) She used it for packing. FATHER The government's moved to Lublin. HALINA All able-bodied men must leave the city, go across the river and set up a new line of defence, that's what it said. FATHER There's hardly anybody left in this building, only women, the men have gone. SZPILMAN And what do you think you'll do while you're setting up a new line of defence? Wander round lugging your suitcases? MOTHER Pack, Wladek, there's no time. SZPILMAN I'm not going anywhere. HALINA Good! I'm not going anywhere either! MOTHER Don't be ridiculous, we've got to keep together. SZPILMAN No, no, no, I'm staying put. If I'm going to die, I prefer to die at home. MOTHER God forbid! HENRYK Sssh! Crackles, whistles and static from the radio. HENRYK Ssh! I've got something, listen... They gather round. RADIO ANNOUNCER ... an important announcement. News has just been received through the BBC that Great Britain, having had no reply... (static) ...and therefore has declared war on Nazi Germany... (a collective gasp) ... next few hours... awaiting latest news... Henryk hits the set. RADIO ANNOUNCER ... but France is expected to make a similar announcement... (static) ... Poland is no longer alone. The Polish national anthem plays. All are still. INT. WARSAW APARTMENT - NIGHT Father pours liqueur into glasses. The family are seated around the dining table, having just finished a meal. The table groans with the remains of the dinner. Szpilman has a plaster over his cut. HENRYK (lighting up a cigarette) Mama, that was a great dinner. SZPILMAN It certainly was. MOTHER When there's something to celebrate, you've got to make an effort. The glasses are handed round. FATHER Here's to Great Britain and France. They all clink glasses and drink. FATHER I told you. Didn't I tell you? All will be well. EXT. RUINED WARSAW STREET - DAY A column of German Soldiers, led by an officer on horseback, march into view. On the sidewalk of the street, with its buildings in ruins, smoke still rising, stand onlookers, including Szpilman and Henryk, and a little behind them, Father, craning to see. They watch, expressionless, as the Germans march past. INT. WARSAW APARTMENT - DAY Regina is opening and closing the window, examining the frame with her fingers. Halina is on a box, removing and replacing books. Mother sits at one end of the table, polishing a man's watch and chain. At the other end, Father sits counting a small stack of notes and coins. Henryk is deep in thought and Szpilman is fiddling with his father's violin. The apartment has less furniture now and the silver has gone. FATHER (finishing the counting) Five thousand and three. MOTHER Is that all? FATHER Yes, five thousand and three zlotys, that's all we've got left. REGINA It's three thousand and three zlotys too much, (reading from newspaper) 'Re: Further restrictions regarding liquid assets: Jews will be allowed to keep a maximum of two thousand zlotys in their homes.' MOTHER What are we supposed to do with the rest? HALINA Deposit it in a bank. Blocked account. HENRYK Banks? Who'd be stupid enough to deposit money in a German bank? REGINA We could hide the money here in the window frame. FATHER No, no, no. I'll tell you what we'll do. We'll use tried and tested methods. You know what we did in the last war? We made a hole in the table leg and we hid the money in there. HENRYK And suppose they take the table away? MOTHER What d'you mean, take the table away? HENRYK The Germans go into Jewish homes and they just take what they want, furniture, valuables, anything. MOTHER Do they? FATHER Idiot! What would they want with a table? All look at the table: it's covered in stains and the veneer is coming away at one end. A table like this? He pokes his finger under the veneer. It snaps, revealing bare wood beneath. MOTHER What on earth are you doing? HALINA There's a good place under the cupboard. HENRYK No, no. Listen, I've been thinking -- SZPILMAN That makes a change. HENRYK You know what we do? We use psychology. SZPILMAN We use what? HENRYK We leave the money and the watch on the table. And we cover it like this. (covers it with the newspaper) In full view. The Germans will search high and low, I promise you, they'll never notice it. SZPILMAN Of course they'll notice it. But look-- (lifts the violin fingerboard.) This is a good place for something. HENRYK A good place for what? (to the others') He's insane! SZPILMAN Just shut up. FATHER (overlapping) My violin? They all talk at once. REGINA Quiet! Quiet! Order, please, order! HALINA She's a lawyer, she likes order. REGINA Listen, just listen. Let's come to an agreement. We jam the money in the window frame. The watch we hide under the cupboard. And the chain we put in the violin. A brief silence. FATHER Will I still be able to play? SZPILMAN Let's find out. They start to hide the things. INT. WARSAW PHARMACY - DAY Szpilman is on the public telephone, waiting for someone to answer his call. Then: SZPILMAN Jurek? Wladek Szpilman. JUREK (filtered) Wladek! How are you? SZPILMAN Fine, we're fine, thank you, and you? JUREK (filtered) Fine, we're fine in the circumstances. But I can guess what you've called about. There's nothing we can do; they won't reopen the station-- SZPILMAN (trying to interrupt) Yes, I know, but Jurek, Jurek... JUREK (filtered) ...not even music, nothing, no radios for the Poles. But I'm sure you'll find work, Wladek, a pianist like you. SZPILMAN Maybe, maybe not, but, Jurek, don't be offended, I didn't call to discuss my future career. EXT. WARSAW STREET AND CAFE PARADISO - DAY Szpilman and Dorota stroll along a tree-lined street with bombed-out buildings and rubble. She flicks admiring, almost loving glances at him as they walk and talk. And he is smiling, touched by her. DOROTA I nagged Jurek for weeks and weeks. And at last he gave in and said, 'All right, come with me tomorrow,' and so I came and they bombed the station. SZPILMAN You know something? Meeting you like that was absolutely wonderful. DOROTA Really? SZPILMAN Yes! (he looks at her, smiles) It was...it was unforgettable. She's embarrassed. DOROTA I've always loved your playing, Mr. Szpilman. SZPILMAN Wladek, please. DOROTA No one plays Chopin like you. She begins to laugh. SZPILMAN I could accompany you, me on the piano, you on the cello. They become almost helpless, holding on to each other. DOROTA Oh, Mr Szpilman, you're quite... quite wonderful. SZPILMAN Wladek, please. Amidst their laughter, he takes her hand and kisses it. INT. WARSAW APARTMENT - NIGHT The family are gathered around the table, listening to Father reading from the newspaper. The apartment has even less furniture now. The paintings are gone. FATHER (reading) 'Re: emblems for Jews in the Warsaw District. I hereby order that all Jews in the Warsaw District will wear visible emblems when out of doors. This decree will come into force on the 1st December 1939 and applies to all Jews over twelve years of age. The emblem will be worn on the right sleeve and will represent a blue Star of David on a white background. The background must be sufficiently large for the Star to measure eight centimetres from point to point. The width of the arms of the Star (reading) must be one centimetre. Jews who do not respect this decree will be severely punished. Governor of Warsaw District, Dr. Fischer.' Silence. Then: HENRYK I won't wear it. REGINA won't wear it. I'm not going to be branded. SZPILMAN (grabbing the newspaper) Let me see this. FATHER Doesn't it say we have to provide these armbands ourselves? Where will we get them? HENRYK We're not going to get them. We're not going to wear them! Silence, each locked in their own thoughts. EXT. WARSAW STREET - DAY Father, wearing the Star of David armband, walks slowly along, carrying a string bag containing potatoes and carrots, his eyes fixed on the pavement as if his thoughts are a million miles away. He passes two GERMAN OFFICERS. They stop. GERMAN OFFICER (a harsh shout) You! Father stops, turns fearfully and approaches the Germans. GERMAN OFFICER Why didn't you bow? FATHER (removing his hat) I'm sorry I... I German Officer cracks him hard across the face, catching his ear. Father reels, collects himself as best he can and starts to shuffle on - GERMAN OFFICER (calling after him) You are forbidden to walk on the pavement. Walk in the gutter! Father steps off the pavement and walks in the gutter. The German turn and go. Father walks on. INT. WARSAW APARTMENT - EVENING Szpilman composing at the piano. He plays, makes adjustments with a pencil to the manuscript, plays again. The flat is almost bare. Halina, enters with a newspaper. HALINA Have you seen this? SZPILMAN (irritated) What, I'm working, what? She hands him the paper. He looks at it. His expression darkens. INSERT: the newspaper. A map of the proposed Jewish area: two distinct districts, one large, one smaller. SZPILMAN'S VOICE What is it? HALINA'S VOICE That's where they're going to put us. SZPILMAN'S VOICE What d'you mean, put us? THE APARTMENT: She looks over his shoulder and reads. As she does so, the door of Henryk's room opens and he stands leaning in the doorway, watching, as if amused. HALINA 'By order of the Governor of the Warsaw District, Dr. Fischer, concerning the establishment of the Jewish District in Warsaw. There will be created a Jewish District in which all Jews living in Warsaw or moving to Warsaw will have to reside." And look here: 'Jews living outside of the prescribed area will have to move to the Jewish district by 31st of October 1940.' Szpilman gazes at the map, horrified. SZPILMAN But...they won't get all of us... we'll...it's too small...there's four hundred thousand of us in Warsaw! HENRYK No. Three hundred and sixty thousand, so it'll be easy. He laughs but they're disturbed by a sound from another room, the sound of crying. They look at each other puzzled, then Halina opens a door and looks in. Szpilman and Henryk join her. BEDROOM: Father is asleep but Mother is sitting on the bed, holding a purse, crying. Halina sits beside her, puts an arm round her. HALINA Mama, what is it? Mother opens the purse to reveal a crumpled note. MOTHER Twenty zlotys. That's all we've got left. What can I buy with twenty zlotys? (breaking down) I'm sick of cooking potatoes, potatoes, potatoes. She weeps. Halina tries to comfort her. Szpilman and Henryk watch. INT. SZPILMAN APARTMENT, SLISKA STREET - NIGHT Hands on the piano keyboard. Podgy, hairy hands with dirty nails. They play an octave, harsh, toneless, with straight fingers. The hands belong to Mr Lipa, a dealer, early fifties. He sits at the piano, now examining the lacquer. Regina stands in the bow, watching him. Henryk is at the table, also watching intently. Szpilman sits apart, aloof, his back to the piano and to Mr Lipa. MR LIPA That's the price. That's what I'm offering. And my advice is to accept. You won't get more from anyone else. REGINA But...but it's a Steinway, Mr Lipa... MR LIPA Two thousand. My advice is to take it. What you going to do when you're hungry? Eat the piano? Henryk suddenly makes a lunge for him, grabs hold of him, a rough struggle takes place and during it Mother and Father appear at their bedroom door to watch, appalled. HENRYK Get out! You're a thieving bastard, we don't want your money, get out! We'd rather give it away! Get out! Regina tries physically to restrain him. MR LIPA (overlapping, warding off Henryk) Hey! Hey! What's the matter with you? Haven't you eaten today, what you suffering from? Hey! REGINA (overlapping) Henryk, stop it, leave him alone. MR LIPA (recovering, catching his breath, overlapping) You people are crazy! I'm doing you a favour, two thousand, and I'm paying for the removal, I'm not even charging for the removal. Henryk subsides, glowering at him. MR LIPA You haven't eaten today, you're crazy... Suddenly: SZPILMAN (turning to them, severe) Take it. EXT. STREET LEADING TO GHETTO - DAY AUTUMN A great column of Jews of all ages make their way towards the area that will become the ghetto. On foot, on bicycles, on horse-drawn platforms, some pushing prams loaded with belongings. A great moving mass of humanity. They're watched on either side of the street by Poles. On a horse-drawn platform, the Szpilmans with their belongings. All wear armbands. Szpilman, Halina and Henryk walk beside the platform with Mother, Father and Regina seated on it. Szpilman catches sight of someone among the onlookers, smiles and pushes through the crowd to Dorota, close to tears. SZPILMAN Dorota! DOROTA I didn't want to come, I didn't want to see all this, but I couldn't stop myself. SZPILMAN How are you doing? DOROTA Fine, no, not really, they arrested my cousin, but Jurek says they'll let him out. (stops, tears in her eyes.) This is disgraceful. SZPILMAN Don't worry, it won't last long. DOROTA That's what I said, it's so - it's too absurd! SZPILMAN I'll see you...soon. He smiles and runs to catch up with his family. He looks back, but Dorota is lost to sight and the procession continues on its way. INT./EXT. GHETTO APARTMENT AND STREET - DAY Two rooms on the third floor: a living room and a kitchen. The Szpilmans are unpacking their belongings in silence. Father pauses for a moment to take stock. FATHER To tell you the truth, I thought it would be worse. SZPILMAN How will we sleep? MOTHER I'll sleep with the girls in the kitchen. You, Henrykc and Papa in here. HALINA (at a window) Look! Come and look! They all go to the window and look out. Their POV - the street. Further along, men are building a wall across the street. EXT. GHETTO WALL - DAY A SERIES OF SHOTS: THE WALL. THE WALL. THE WALL. EXT. MARKET AREA, GHETTO - DAY Winter. Cold, freezing day. Slush underfoot. Great activity. People selling shoes, clothes, carpets, curtains, food. A woman offers cakes under a barbed-wire cover. Noise, bustle, restless wing and froing. Among the traders, Henryk, slightly shabbier now, and at his feet a basket with books. He holds a couple of volumes in his hands, trying to interest passers-by. Szpilman, also a little shabbier, wends his way through the setters and buyers, the beggars, the passers-by, and reaches Henryk. Henryk drops the two volumes into the basket, takes a handle one side of the basket, Szpilman the other. They set off. As they walk, carrying the basket between them, passing beggars and children asking for food: SZPILMAN You sell anything? HENRYK Just one. Dostoevsky. The Idiot. Three zlotys. SZPILMAN That's better than yesterday. HENRYK Three lousy zlotys. And there are people here making millions. SZPILMAN I know. HENRYK You don't know, believe me. They bribe the guards. The guards turn a blind eye. They're bringing in cartloads, food, tobacco, liquor, French cosmetics, and the poor are dying all around them and they don't give a damn. Suddenly, a WOMAN appears in front of them, barring their way. She's brightly rouged with thickly painted eyebrows, dressed in an old green velvet curtain with an unsteady mauve ostrich feather rising from her straw hat. THE FEATHER WOMAN Excuse me, but have you by any chance seen my husband Izaak Szerman? SZPILMAN I'm afraid not. THE FEATHER WOMAN A tall handsome man with a little grey beard? They shake their heads. THE FEATHER WOMAN No? (she is near to tears, then smiles artificially.) Oh, do forgive me. (as she goes) Goodbye, sleep well, if you see him, please do write, Izaak Szerman's his name... She wanders on. Szpilman and Henryk, too, continue on their way. And as they go: HENRYK Sometimes I wish I could go mad. EXT. CHLODNA STREET - DAY A stream of cars and trams. Jewish policemen and German soldiers much in evidence. Szpilman and Henryk join a large crowd of Jews waiting at a barrier to cross the intersection. The crowd is agitated, impatient for a policeman to stop the traffic and let them through. A MAN next to Szpilman and Henryk is becoming more and more distraught, shifting his weight from foot to foot, taking off and putting on his hat. THE NERVOUS MAN This is totally insane; why do we have to have a gentile street running through our area? Can't they go around? HENRYK Don't worry about it, they're about to build a bridge, haven't you heard? THE NERVOUS MAN A bridge, a schmidge, and the Germans claim to be intelligent. You know what I think? I think they're totally stupid. I've got a family to feed and I spend half my time here waiting for them to let us through. Meanwhile, a street band begins to play a waltz. Jewish policemen and German soldiers are clearing a space, shoving Jews out of the way, including Szpilman, Henryk and the nervous man. Other soldiers are clearing a space. Two GERMAN SOLDIERS pull out of the crowd a tall woman and a short man and haul them into the cleared space. THE GERMAN SOLDIER Dance! The couple dance to the street band's waltz. At intervals, German soldiers select even more unlikely couples: a fat woman with a painfully thin man, a young boy with an elderly woman, two men, and two cripples. The German soldiers are, to various degrees, amused. One of them is almost hysterical with laughter. SOLDIERS Faster! Go on, faster! Dance! The couples dance as fast as they can. A soldier kicks one of the cripples who can't go on any more. SOLDIERS Dance! Dance! Then a whistle blows, a policeman stops the traffic, the barrier swings open and people swarm across in both directions. INT. GHETTO APARTMENT - DAY Szpilman and Henryk enter and stop. Uneasy. MOTHER Good, they're here. Yitzchak Heller's been waiting for you, Henryk. Seated at the table with Mother and Father is a uniformed young man, YITZCHAK HELLER, unusual appearance, a man with red hair and a Hitler moustache. Heller remains seated, just nods at the brothers. HENRYK What's this about? MOTHER Sit down, have tea, I'll start lunch when the girls get back. Henryk and Szpilman sit. They eye Heller suspiciously. HENRYK So, what are you doing here? FATHER He brought cakes. Awkward silence. FATHER His father's back in the jewellery business and doing well, isn't that so, Yitzchak? Amazing. Jewellery. He runs dry. Another awkward silence. Then: HELLER We're recruiting. HENRYK Who's recruiting? HELLER Don't be clever with me, Henryk. I've come here as a friend. They're bringing Jews in from all over the country. Soon there'll be half a million people in the ghetto. We need more Jewish police... HENRYK (sarcastic) Oh? More Jewish police? You mean you want me to wear a cap like yours, beat up Jews with my truncheon and catch the Gestapo spirit. I see! HELLER (eyes narrowed, dangerous) Someone's got to do it, Henryk. HENRYK But why me? I thought you only recruited boys with rich fathers. Look at my father, look at us, I mean... HELLER (interrupting, flaring) Yes, I'm looking at you and that's why I'm here. Your whole family can have a better life. You want to go on struggling for survival, selling books on the street? HENRYK (a smile) Yes, please. HELLER (to Szpilman) I'm doing you people a favour. And what about you, Wladek? You're a great pianist. And we've got an excellent police jazz band. They'd welcome you with open arms. Join us. You've got no work... SZPILMAN Thank you. But I've got work. Silence. Heller rises angrily. INT. CAFE NOWACZESNA, GHETTO - DAY On a platform, Szpilman plays at a piano, but he can hardly be heard above the noise of chatter and laughter. The large cafe is crowded, hot and smoke-filled. Well-heeled customers, pimps, whores, businessmen sit at little tables, eating, talking, laughing, almost drowning the piano music. Some dance. A couple of tables back from the piano, a customer is doing business with a friend. The customer has a small stack of coins, some of them twenty-dollar gold pieces. He folds back the tablecloth to reveal a marble surface beneath. He drops a coin on the marble and listens but the noise is too loud. He sees the cafe owner, BENEK, fiftyish, and makes gestures, pointing at Szpilman. Benek pushes his way through to Szpilman. BENEK (whispering into Szpilman's ear) I'm sorry, Mr Wladek, he wants you to stop. SZPILMAN (continuing to play) Who wants me to stop? Benek points to the customer, who makes an imploring gesture to Szpilman. Szpilman stops playing. The friend watches the customer intently as he drops the coins one by one onto the marble. He drops them, puts his ear close and listens. Two or three he discards, but he smiles when coins make a pure tone, and he keeps them. Szpilman exchanges looks with a pretty whore, who makes eyes at him. Satisfied, the customer beams, nods his thanks to Szpilman, who resumes his piano playing. EXT. GHETTO STREET - DUSK Szpilman walking. He passes emaciated children and beggars. He steps over the corpses lying on the sidewalk. EXT. STREET NEAR WALL - DUSK The wall runs the length of the street, dividing it in half and narrowing it. Buildings on one side, the wall on the other. Szpilman walks along. A piercing whistle from the Aryan side. Szpilman stops. Two women appear from a doorway, approach the wall and look up. Two or three packages come flying over from the Aryan side. The women grab them and disappear. Szpilman walks on and sees a child appear through a hole at ground level. The child wriggles through then turns, pulls a package after him and runs. Szpilman walks on, hears a noise, looks back to see a SECOND CHILD trying to wriggle through the same hole. But he's stuck. Angry German voices from the Aryan side. 2ND CHILD Help me! help me! Szpilman goes to him, pulls him with all his might but the boy is jammed in the hole. From the other side of the wall, the sound of an angry German voice and of a boot stamping violently on the boy. The boy screams in agony. Szpilman continues to try to pull the boy through. The sound of the German voice swearing and the dull, crunching noise made by the boot smashing into the boy continues, and with every thud the boy screams in terrible pain. Szpilman struggles to help the boy whose screams are becoming weaker yet increasingly desperate. Szpilman pulls his arms and finally manages to get him through. The boy lies moaning. Szpilman takes the boy's face in his hands, tries to comfort him, revive him, but the boy has stopped moaning. His head lolls and his jaw sags. He is dead. Szpilman stands quickly and hurries away. EXT. COURTYARD AND HOUSE - EVENING Szpilman approaches the house through a shabby yard. INT. JEHUDA ZYSKIND'S ROOM - EVENING The noise of a mimeograph machine. A huge, CHEERFUL MAN with a perpetual cigarette in his mouth. JEHUDA I always say look on the bright side. You're in the small ghetto, intellectuals, professional people, you're better off than us. Here, in the large ghetto, it's a cesspool. But you, you're living in Monte Carlo. You could say you're privileged and that, of course, goes against my principles. Nevertheless... He laughs and coughs, starts looking through papers. His room is piled from floor to ceiling with old papers and stuff. Dark, shabby, run-down. One of his sons, SYMCHE, is operating the mimeograph machine. The other, DOLEK, is sorting the sheets as they come off the roller. MRS. ZYSKIND, holding a toddler, is cooking at a small stove. JEHUDA finds what he's been looking for, a newspaper made up of a few sheets. JEHUDA Ah, here. Today's news from the other side. SZPILMAN You're amazing, Jehuda. JEHUDA No, I'm a socialist. I have brothers everywhere. They bring me news and food. We care about our fellow human beings. Workers of the world unite. SZPILMAN So, what's the news? JEHUDA (scanning the paper) The Germans are advancing on Kharkhov. SZPILMAN I don't know why I come here every evening, it's always such bad news. JEHUDA Bad news, you crazy? You have no world view, Wladek, that's your trouble. The news couldn't be better. The moment Hitler invaded Russia, I knew we'd be all right. Remember Napoleon. Same business. The Germans will freeze to death, please God. He beams. Szpilman leans over, takes a sheet from the mimeograph. SZPILMAN Jehuda, give me something to do. JEHUDA You're an artist, Wladek, you keep people's spirits up. You do enough. SZPILMAN But I want to help, I want to. JEHUDA You're too well known, Wladek. And you know what? You musicians don't make good conspirators. You're too...too musical. He loves this, laughs, coughs. SZPILMAN There are notices going up. The city's to be cleansed of undesirables. JEHUDA There are always notices going up. A distinctive knock on the door. Szpilman tenses but Jehuda beams. To one of his boys: Symche - The boy opens the door to admit a short, neat man, MAJOREK. MAJOREK Hello, Symche, Dolek, Mrs Zyskind, Jehuda. Working hard? He stops, seeing Szpilman. JEHUDA Majorek, this is the greatest pianist in Poland, maybe in the whole world. Wladyslaw Szpilman. Meet Majorek. MAJOREK (shakes Szpilman's hand) I know your name. I've never heard you play. JEHUDA Majorek used to be in the army. Brilliant man. He's got a mind like a searchlight. The only thing I've got against him is he's not a socialist. (he looks out of the window.) You'd better go now, Wladek. It's nearly curfew. (he hands over pamphlets to Majorek.) You see these, Wladek? You know how many copies we print of our newspaper? Szpilman shrugs. JEHUDA Five hundred. You know how many people on average read one copy? Twenty. That makes ten thousand readers. These will start the uprising. Majorek hides them in his underpants. And leaves them in toilets. SZPILMAN Toilets? MAJOREK As many toilets as I can find. Germans never go into Jewish toilets. They're too clean for them. Jehuda loves this too, but his laugh makes him cough appallingly. INT. GHETTO APARTMENT - EVENING Summer. The windows are open and the sounds of the ghetto can be heard in the background. The family sit round the small table as Mother comes with a saucepan of soup and starts to serve. MOTHER And, please, tonight, for once, I don't want anything bad talked about. Let's enjoy our meal. HENRYK Okay, then I'll tell you something funny. You know who I mean by Dr. Raszeja. REGINA The surgeon? HENRYK The surgeon. Well, for some reason, don't ask me why, the Germans allowed him into the ghetto to perform an operation... HALINA On a Jew? They allowed a Pole to come in to operate on a Jew? HENRYK He got a pass, that's all I know. Anyway, he puts the patient to sleep and starts the operation. He'd just made the first incision when the SS burst in, shoot the patient lying on the table, and then shoot Dr. Raszeja and everybody else who was there. Isn't that a laugh? The patient didn't feel a thing, he was anaesthetised - He laughs. No one else does. MOTHER Henryk, I said nothing bad. HENRYK What's the matter with you all? Have you lost your sense of humour? SZPILMAN It's not funny. HENRYK Well, you know what's funny? You're funny with that ridiculous tie. SZPILMAN What are you talking about, my tie? What's my tie got to do with anything? I need the tie for my work. MOTHER Boys, boys... HENRYK Your work, yes, playing the piano for all the parasites in the ghetto, they don't give a damn about people's sufferings, they don't even notice what's going on around them! FATHER I blame the Americans. The others look at him. SZPILMAN For what? For my tie? FATHER American Jews, and there's lots of them, what have they done for us? What do they think they're doing? People here are dying, haven't got a bite to eat. The Jewish bankers over there should be persuading America to declare war on Germany! Suddenly, there's a roar of engines and a screech of brakes. Slamming of doors. The family rush to the windows. EXT./INT. BUILDING OPPOSITE AND GHETTO APARTMENT - NIGHT A Gestapo vehicle has entered the street and screeched to a halt. Helmeted, jackbooted SS MEN, led by an NCO, pour out of the vehicle. The Szpilmans gather at their open window to watch. Regina turns off the lights before joining them. They are all terrified. Their half-eaten meal still on the table behind them. POV - from Szpilman apartment: the building opposite. The SS men pouring into the building opposite. Sound of the jackboots on stairs. Lights go on floor by floor. In an apartment directly opposite, a businessman, his wife, three young people and an old man in a wheelchair sit at their dining table. The SS men burst in, machine pistols at the ready. The family is frozen with horror, remain seated. The NCO scans their faces. NCO (in a towering rage) Stand up! The family rise to their feet fast, except for the old man in the wheelchair. The NCO bears down on him. NCO Stand up! The old man in the wheelchair grips the arms of the chair and tries desperately to stand. But he can't. Without warning, the SS men seize the chair with the old man in it, carry him out on to the balcony. THE SZPILMANS: Mother SCREAMS, Father shrinks back, Halina comforts him and Regina comforts Mother. Szpilman's and Henryk 's POV - the apartment opposite: The SS men throw the old man in his wheelchair over the balcony. He seems to hang in the air for a second then drops out of the chair and out of sight. But there's a terrible thud as his body hits the pavement and a clatter as the wheelchair follows him. THE SZPILMANS: Mother sobbing. The others, still horrified. REGINA (softly, to Mother) Be quiet, Mama, for God's sake, be quiet! Then sound of shots, slamming doors, screams, shouts. Szpilman and Henryk hurry to another window so that they can see what's going on. Their POV from second window building opposite and street: SS Men herding a couple of dozen prisoners from the building opposite. People watching from the windows but trying not to be seen. The headlights of the SS vehicle are switched on and the SS Men are forcing their prisoners to stand in the beam. A GERMAN VOICE Run! Run! The prisoners start to run. The SS men open fire with a machine gun mounted on the vehicle. People in the building opposite begin to SCREAM. The prisoners are being shot down. They are lifted into the air by the bullets, turn somersaults, fall dead. One man escapes by running back in the opposite direction, out of the beam of light and is lost to sight for a moment. The escaping man, a silhouette, out of the light, runs with all his strength, putting distance between himself and the SS. He starts to scale a wall. He looks as though he's getting away. But there's a floodlight on the SS vehicle. It flares into light, swivels and finds the man. A volley of shots. The man drops from the wall, dead. The SS men get into the vehicle and speed off, driving over the dead bodies. THE SZPILMANS: Szpilman and Henryk stare at the scene, silent, shocked. The only sounds, the weeping of the people opposite and, nearer, Mother crying softly. INT. CAFE NOWOCZESNA - DAY Szpilman, as if in another world, playing the piano. The cafe is full of customers but the atmosphere is much more subdued than previously, the mood is sombre. EXT. CAFE NOWOCZESNA - DAY A doorman with a cudgel beats away the beggars from the door as Halina, distraught and out of breath, runs to the cafe entrance. The doorman lets her in. INT. CAFE NOWACZESNA - DAY Szpilman snaps out of his reverie, seeing, across the heads of the customers, Halina, in a state of great anxiety, beckoning urgently. Szpilman quickly brings the piece to a close, stands, steps off the platform, threads his way through to Halina. She's shivering, almost unable to speak. SZPILMAN What's happened? HALINA (almost incoherent) Oh my God, it's terrible, you've got to do something, oh my God! SZPILMAN (shaking her) Calm down, what, what is it? HALINA They're hunting people on the streets. They've picked up Henryk. EXT. STREETS - DAY Szpilman running. Streets crowded. Corpses. Szpilman, sweating, dodges and sidesteps. Then, suddenly, a woman bars his way. She's the Feather Woman, brightly rouged, with her thickly painted eyebrows, the unsteady mauve ostrich feather rising from her straw hat. THE FEATHER WOMAN Excuse me, but have you seen my husband Izaak Szerman? SZPILMAN I'm afraid not. He tries to dodge past but she grabs his arm. THE FEATHER WOMAN He's tall, he's handsome. He has a little grey beard. If you see him, please do write, Izaak Szerman's his name, don't forget. Szpilman manages to free himself and runs on. EXT. LABOUR BUREAU BUILDING - DAY A mob of men in front of the building being herded this way and that by Jewish policemen. More and more captive men are brought in by the German Schutzpolizei (Shupos). The mob constantly swelling. Szpilman reaches the back of the crowd. SZPILMAN (to an elderly man nearest him) What's happening? THE ELDERLY MAN They've got my grandson in there. They pick 'em up, they take 'em away. What do they do to them? I've stopped believing in God! Szpilman scans the mob. The Jewish policemen using batons and whips to herd the men. No sign of Henryk. Szpilman becomes alert. He's seen someone he recognises. Heller, with his red hair and Hitler moustache, wielding a baton, driving men into the building. With difficulty, Szpilman pushes his way through the mob and gets nearer to Heller. SZPILMAN (yelling) Yitzchak! Heller doesn't hear. SZPILMAN Yitzchak! Heller glances round. SZPILMAN Here, please! Wladek Szpilman! Heller shoves someone aside so that Szpilman can approach, but he continues to beat and manhandle people. SZPILMAN Henryk's in there. HELLER I haven't seen him. SZPILMAN Believe me, they've picked him up. HELLER Tough luck. SZPILMAN Can you help? HELLER Oh, you need me now, yes, now you need me! SZPILMAN Can you help us? HELLER It costs. SZPILMAN I've no money. HELLER Then there's nothing I can do. He should've joined us when I gave him the chance.. SZPILMAN Yitzchak, they told me you had influence. HELLER Who told you? SZPILMAN People I know. They said you're an important man. Heller just glares at Szpilman and then moves away. Szpilman stands, jostled by the crowd, uncertain, forlorn. EXT. ALLEY AND LABOUR BUREAU, LATER - MID-AFTERNOON Szpilman, keeping to the shadows of the alleyway, watches the front of the building. Comings and goings. German Soldiers in evidence. The mob is smaller now. Szpilman waits and watches, and then a POOR WOMAN passes, carrying a can wrapped in newspaper followed by a RAGGED OLD MAN, dragging himself along. He's shivering with cold, his shoes with holes show his purple feet. The ragged old man suddenly lunges forward and tries to grab the can from the poor woman. They struggle desperately. POOR WOMAN (screaming) A snatcher! Help me, a snatcher! The can falls to the pavement and thick, steaming soup pours into the dirty street. Szpilman watches, rooted to the spot. The ragged old man stares at the can, lets out a groan, more like a whimper, and throws himself full length in the slush, licking the soup up from the pavement. The poor woman starts to howl, kicking the old man and tearing at her hair in despair. Then: RUBINSTEIN'S VOICE Boys, keep your peckers up! And girls, keep your legs crossed! RUBINSTEIN, a ragged, dishevelled little man, Chaplinesque, waving a stick, hopping and jumping, approaches the Germans outside the bureau. RUBINSTEIN Don't let 'em get you down - He approaches a couple of Shupos. RUBINSTEIN Bandits! Crooks! Thieves! He waves his stick at them. They laugh. One of them bows low. 1ST SHUPO Good day, Herr Rubinstein. RUBINSTEIN If that means good day, I'm your man, you gangsters, robbers, pirates! 2ND SHUPO (tapping his head) Mad! RUBINSTEIN Ich bin meshuge, you bandit! Almost in tears with laughter, they give him a cigarette and he goes on his way. Szpilman almost smiles, then looks again at the building. He waits. EXT. ALLEY AND LABOUR BUREAU, LATER - DUSK Sun just setting. From the shelter of the alleyway, Szpilman continues to watch the entrance of the bureau. No mob any more, but people come and go - jewish policemen, shupos, a few jews. Almost continuous sounds of distant shots and screams. Then, Heller appears at the entrance, looks this way and that and goes back inside the building. Szpilman alert. Again Heller appears in the entrance. He beckons someone inside. Henryk shuffles out. Heller shoves him into the street. Henryk stumbles, falls. Szpilman runs to him, helps him to his feet. HENRYK (immediately on the attack, furious) You go to Heller, did I ask you to talk to him? SZPILMAN You're out, aren't you? They start to walk. HENRYK Did you beg, did you grovel to that piece of shit, that cockroach? SZPILMAN I didn't grovel, I asked him to help. HENRYK What did you pay him? SZPILMAN Pay him? With what? With what could I pay him? Every zloty I earn we spend on food! HENRYK I can look after myself! SZPILMAN They were taking you away. HENRYK It's nothing to do with you. It's me they wanted, not you. Why do you interfere in other people's business? SZPILMAN You're mad, that's your trouble, you're mad. HENRYK That's also my business. They walk on. EXT. CHLODNA STREET BRIDGE - DUSK A wooden bridge has been constructed, linking the small ghetto to the large ghetto. Few people about, mostly beggars and children. Szpilman and Henryk climb the stairs of the bridge, but as they reach the bridge itself Henryk stumbles, sinks to his knees. Szpilman gets hold of him, tries to help him stand. SZPILMAN What's the matter? Are you sick? HENRYK Hungry. EXT. CAFE NOWOCZESNA - NIGHT Szpilman supports Henryk, helps him towards the back of the cafe. INT. KITCHEN, CAFE NOWOCZESNA - NIGHT Henryk, finishing a bowl of soup and a piece of bread, sits at a worktop with Szpilman and Benek. The kitchen is small and busy with cooks, waiters, washers-up. SZPILMAN What's that mean, no employment certificate? HENRYK You have to have an employment certificate to work for one of the German firms in the ghetto, otherwise... SZPILMAN Otherwise what? HENRYK You'll be deported. BENEK So the rumours were true... HENRYK They're going to resettle us. Send us to labour camps. In the east. And they're closing the small ghetto. Silence. EXT. CHLODNA STREET - DAY A dense crowd of people crossing the bridge in both directions. Szpilman, shabby and unshaven, hurries along and meets Jehuda Zyskind coming towards him, accompanied by the small man, Majorek. JEHUDA Wladek! Szpilman stops. JEHUDA I thought you'd be off on tour, playing London, Paris, New York? SZPILMAN (trying to smile) Not this week. They're buffeted by the crowd. In the street below them, cars, trams, pedestrians and German guards. JEHUDA I have to say you look terrible. What's the trouble? SZPILMAN You've heard the rumours they're going to resettle us in the East? JEHUDA (dismissing him) Rumours, rumours, you take it all too much to heart, Wladek. SZPILMAN I've been trying to get a certificate of employment for my father. I've managed to get certificates for me and the rest of the family but I need one more for my father. I've been trying all the firms, the shops... JEHUDA Why didn't you come to me? SZPILMAN I didn't know you were in the certificate business. JEHUDA I'm not, but Majorek is. SZPILMAN (to Majorek) Can you help? I've no money... JEHUDA Please, don't insult us. (to Majorek) Can you do something for him? MAJOREK Be at the Schultz Workshop, tomorrow, four o'clock. JEHUDA You see what a wonderful piece of luck you've had today? That's die historical imperative in action and that's why I always say, look on... SZPILMAN (joining with him) ...the bright side, yes, I know. INT. OFFICE AND FLOOR, SCHULTZ FACTORY - DAY The name 'Samuel Szpilman' being written on a certificate. The clatter of sewing machines. SCHULTZ, a fat, sweaty German is filling out the form at his desk. Majorek beside him, standing, chatting to him and having a quiet laugh. In the doorway, Szpilman and Father. The small office is on an upper level with a window looking down on the factory floor where Jewish men and women are hard at work on sewing machines making the terrible clatter. Schultz stamps the certificate, hands it to Majorek, who gives it to Father. FATHER (doffing his hat) Thank you. SCHULTZ (beaming, German accent) My pleasure. It won't help you anyway. EXT. CHLODNA STREET BRIDGE - DAY A great mass of agitated people crossing only one way: from the small ghetto to the large ghetto, carrying their belongings. A German film crew records the scene. The Szpilmans among the crowd, lugging suitcases and bundles, Henryk with a few books, Father carrying his violin case. They struggle across the bridge. EXT./INT. YARD AND WAREHOUSE - DAY A truck backing up. The tail-gate is opened to reveal a huge load of furniture, linen, clothing, mirrors, carpets, bedclothes. Three Jews inside the van start to unload the stuff, dumping it in the yard. Other Jews stand ready to start sorting the load, among them the Szpilman family. Shupos and Jewish policemen supervise. Each has their allotted task: Szpilman and Henryk sort out carpets, Father mirrors, Regina linen, Halina and Mother, clothing. The sounds of trains not far off. They carry the stuff into the warehouse. INT. WAREHOUSE - DAY Szpilman and the others bring their piles of things into the warehouse, which is crammed with similar objects, an Aladdin's cave. The activity continuous. INT. SLEEPING QUARTERS, ABOVE WAREHOUSE - NIGHT semi-darkness. A large room with an improvised partition of blankets to separate the men from the women. Three-tiered bunks. On the men's side, Father is on the upper bunk, Henryk on the lower. Szpilman, stripping down to his underwear, is preparing to climb into the middle bunk. FATHER At least we've got work in the ghetto. At least we're still together. Szpilman nods, climbs into his bunk, settles down. Somewhere near, the sound of a train. Then a volley of shots, German voices shouting. Szpilman slips off his bunk, hurries to the door, opens it and comes face to face with a German NCO and soldiers. NCO Out! Assemble in the yard! SZPILMAN We're employed here, we've got certificates - The NCO cracks Szpilman across the face, turns and goes. Szpilman retreats into the room, his nose bleeding. The women are watching from behind the blankets, but Mother hurries towards Szpilman. She wipes his nose. Shots, shouts, a scream. EXT. WAREHOUSE YARD - DAWN Still quite dark. The Szpilmans and about twenty others lined up under lights shining on them from a couple of German vehicles. The NCO goes along the line, making a selection, using his pistol to prod people into moving. When he gets to the Szpilmans he selects Henryk and Halina. Then, he turns to those who are left: NCO The rest of you get dressed then report back here. Bring your belongings. Fifteen kilos only. A YOUNG WOMAN Where are you taking us? The NCO turns his pistol on the young woman and shoots her through the head. He marches off while she lies on the ground with blood spurting out of her. INT. SZPILMAN ROOMS, WAREHOUSE - DAWN The partition has been pulled aside. People, including the Szpilmans, are dressing or dressed, packing up their belongings. SZPILMAN I'm sorry, I did my best, I thought the certificates would save us all. MOTHER Stop it, Wladek. REGINA Let's just hope that Henryk and Halina will be better off - Sounds of shots, screams, shouts, a piercing whistle. EXT. STREET LEADING TO UMSCHLAGPLATZ - MORNING Hot, fine summer's day. Jews, among them Szpilman, Mother, Regina and father, clutching their meagre belongings, walk towards wooden gates and come to a halt. Jewish policemen approach and order the people about, pushing and shoving them into line. REGINA (to a Jewish policeman) Where will we be going? JEWISH POLICEMAN #1 You're going to work. You'll be much better off than in this stinking ghetto. The gates are The gates are opened. JEWISH POLICEMAN #2 Move! They shuffle forward. EXT. UMSCHLAGPLATZ - DAY Szpilman, Mother, Regina and Father, with others, enter through one of the gates, which closes on them. They pause for a moment to take in their new surroundings. The Szpilmans and their POV: Their first sight of the large rectangle, walled on two sides and overlooked by buildings. Several hundred people. People walk up and down. SZPILMAN Let's sit over there. But he stops again, and so do the others. Something they see causes them to stand stock still, expressionless. THE SZPILMANS' POV: An unoccupied space at the edge of the compound where bloated, decaying bodies lie near to a wall. The wall itself is spattered with blood. Large flies walk over the dead. Nobody goes near. THE SZPILMANS: Szpilman turns away and leads the others to another space. Later: Glaring sun. The Szpilmans have settled down on the kerb of a pavement and are waiting. Szpilman stands, observing the scene. Mother sits on a bundle of things, staring vacantly, her hair hanging down in strands. Regina, beside her, has her hands over her face and is weeping, the tears running through her fingers. Father walks nervously up and down, hands behind his back, four steps one way, four steps back. Near them, a YOUNG WOMAN begins to wail. THE YOUNG WOMAN Why did I do it? Why did I do it? A young man, beside her, whispers to her, but she does not seem to take in what he's saying. Her cries continue at intervals. THE YOUNG WOMAN Why did I do it? Why did I do it? The sound of trucks. Everyone looks towards the gates. More Jews are being unloaded from trucks and are marched through the gates. Mothers, children, old people, begging, most of them holding papers. Pandemonium. Later: The sun high, blazing. Szpilman is wandering around, occasionally greeting people. The place is crowded now, packed. Trucks bring more and more Jews at intervals. Old people lying down, exhausted, impossible to tell whether some of them are alive or dead. Women carrying dehydrated children drag themselves from group to group. One WOMAN approaches Szpilman. WOMAN WITH CHILD He's dying, don't you have a drop of water? My child's dying of thirst, he's dying, he's dying, I beg you! Szpilman shakes his head sadly. The woman with child wanders off to another group. A MAN'S VOICE I'm telling you, it's a disgrace. Szpilman turns to see a man, DR. EHRLICH, haranguing Father. FATHER I can hear you. Szpilman goes to them. DR. EHRLICH (overlapping) We're letting them take us to our death like sheep to the slaughter! FATHER Dr. Ehrlich, not so loud! DR. EHRLICH Why don't we attack them? There's half a million of us, we could break out of the ghetto. At least we could die honourably, not as a stain on the face of history! Another man, Grun, joins in. GRUN Why you so sure they're sending us to our death? DR. EHRLICH I'm not sure. You know why I'm not sure? Because they didn't tell me. But I'm telling you they plan to wipe us all out! FATHER Dr. Ehrlich, what do you want me to do? You want me to fight? GRUN To fight you need organisation, plans, guns! FATHER He's right. What d'you think I can do? Fight them with my violin bow? GRUN The Germans would never squander a huge labour force like this. They're sending us to a labour camp. DR. EHRLICH Oh, sure. Look at that cripple, look at those old people, the children, they're going to work? Look at Mr Szpilman here, he's going to carry iron girders on his back? A loud cry from Mother. Szpilman and Father spin round. MOTHER Henryk! REGINA (glancing up, shocked) Oh my God! Near the gates, among a large bunch of new arrivals, Henryk and Halina. MOTHER Halina! Henryk! Regina and Szpilman also call and wave. Henryk and Halina struggle through to them. Halina falls into Mother's arms and they hug. HALINA We heard you were here...we...didn't want...we...we wanted to be with you. Mother comforts her. And so does Regina. Father smiles sadly. SZPILMAN (shakes his head, almost to himself, a forlorn smile) Stupid, stupid! THE YOUNG WOMAN Why did I do it? Why did I do it? Szpilman stands and stares at her. Later: The sun lower but the heat still intense. The place is now packed to suffocation. People calling out names, trying to find each other. The wailing of women and the cries of children. A cordon of Jewish policemen and SS guards are, almost surreptitiously, ringing the compound. The Szpilmans sit in the same place, with Henryk sitting a little apart and now reading a small book. THE YOUNG WOMAN Why did I do it? Why did I do it? HALINA She's getting on my nerves. What did she do, for God's sake? Grun leans across to her. GRUN (quietly, to Halina) She smothered her baby. Halina looks at him in disbelief. GRUN They'd prepared a hiding place and so, of course, they went there. But the baby cried just as the police came. She smothered the cries with her hands. The baby died. A policeman heard the death rattle. He found where they were hiding. Later: Szpilman and Henryk. SZPILMAN What are you reading? HENRYK (a crooked, ironic smile) 'If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?' Szpilman takes the book and reads the title page: THE MERCHANT OF VENICE BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE. SZPILMAN Very appropriate. HENRYK (taking the book back and resuming his reading) Yes, that's why I brought it. Later: The Szpilmans seated on the kerb. Their attention is caught by a BOY who has a box of sweets on a string round his neck. And he's setting the sweets, pocketing money. HENRYK Idiot. What's he think he's going to do with the money? Father calls to the Sweet Boy and beckons him over. FATHER How much for a caramel? THE SWEET BOY Twenty zlotys. FATHER What? For one caramel? What d'you think you're going to do with the money? THE SWEET BOY Twenty zlotys. FATHER (turning to the family) Have we got twenty between us? They search their pockets and handbags, hand over to Father what change they can find. He, in turn, hands the money to the Sweet Boy, who hands over one caramel and goes on his way. Father holds the caramel between thumb and forefinger and examines it carefully. Then, carefully takes out his penknife and with great care divides the caramel into six pans. He hands a part to each of the family. They all exchange a look, an acknowledgement of each other, almost like a toast, and then they chew, slowly, deliberately. The whistle of a locomotive. Sound of trucks rattling over the rails. At once, a sound of great agitation from the Jews in the compound. EXT. RAILWAY SIDING - DAY The locomotive pulling cattle and goods trucks comes into sight, rolling slowly towards the boundary of the Umschlagplatz and coming to a halt. EXT. RAILWAY SIDING - DAY A cordon of Jewish policeman and SS guards. Among the great throng of people, the Szpilmans trudge towards the train. Szpilman and Halina walking. SZPILMAN Halina? HALINA What? SZPILMAN Funny time to say this. HALINA What? SZPILMAN wish I knew you better. HALINA (a smile) Thanks. THE TRAIN: The Szpilmans near the train. The first trucks are already full, the people inside pressed close together, SS men pushing them with their rifle butts. People in the trucks cry out in desperation. The Szpilmans are pushed along by SS men along the cordon of Jewish policemen, past loaded trucks. Then, suddenly: A VOICE Szpilman! Szpilman! A Jewish policeman grabs Szpilman by his collar and pulls him back out of the police cordon. It's Heller. The rest of the family have reached the next truck to be filled. A scuffle as Szpilman tries to resist. Another Jewish policeman shoves him. Szpilman stumbles, falls to the ground, in front of him the closed ranks of the Jewish policemen's backs. He stands, runs at the cordon, seeing between their heads, shoulders, Mother, Regina, Henryk and Halina clambering into the trucks. Father is looking around, bewildered. SZPILMAN (yelling) Papa! Father sees him, takes a step towards him, but stops, smiling helplessly. He raises his hand and waves, then turns and goes towards the trucks. Again, Szpilman flings himself at the policemen's shoulders. SZPILMAN (desperate) Papa! Mama! Halina! Heller turns on him. HELLER What do you think you're doing, Szpilman? I've saved your life! Now, go on, save yourself! Szpilman stands for a moment, confused, terrified. Then he turns and starts to run. HELLER Don't run! Szpilman drops to walking pace, makes for the gates. Workers are pushing carts piled with the bloated corpses that lay against the wall. Szpilman falls in with them and they pass through the gates. EXT. TRAIN - DAY The doors of the trucks are closed. The train begins to move. Slow, laborious. From the trucks, the faint cries of the occupants. EXT. STREET BY THE SIDING - DAY Szpilman catches his breath by a building. An SS man and Jewish policeman emerge. The Jewish policeman is servile, crawling to the German. He points to the train - JEWISH POLICEMAN Well, off they go for meltdown! They laugh as they walk away. Szpilman turns and stumbles down the empty street. The cries from the trucks fading. He begins to weep, loud, agonised sobs, and staggers on. EXT. GHETTO STREET - EVENING Szpilman, lost, empty, aimless, tries to catch his breath in the aftermath of his tears. He wanders forlornly down the street, passing empty buildings with their doors open, windows smashed. Furniture, torn mattresses and pillows lie scattered. Feathers fly. Desolation. 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. Suddenly: YOUNG SS MAN Halt! The column halts before a young SS man, wild-eyed, with his sleeves rolled up and wielding a pistol. He talks excitedly to the policemen then turns, walks along the column dividing them up: some men to the right, others, seven of them, to the left. Benek he orders to the left, Szpilman to the right. Young SS man turns to those on the left. YOUNG SS MAN Lie down! Terrified, they obey. He stands over them and, one by one, shoots them. When he comes to Benek, the seventh man, his pistol runs out of ammunition. He changes the clip, shoots Benek and marches off. EXT. BUILDING SITE, OUTSIDE GHETTO - DAY Szpilman, bent almost double, carries a hod on his back piled with bricks. He is mounting a wooden ramp that runs up beside scaffolding on a small building site where an extra floor is being added to a house. There are Polish workers, too, who don't, of course, wear armbands as the Jews do. There's a wooden hut serving as a store on the site. Halfway up the ramp, Szpilman hears someone whistle. He stops, turns to see, at the bottom of the ramp, Majorek, smiling and giving a discreet wave. Later: Szpilman and Majorek sip gruel out of mugs. They sit apart from the others who are also taking a break. SZPILMAN How long have you been here? MAJOREK Since last night. I was pleased to see you. Brief silence. MAJOREK They're going to start the final resettlement now. We know what it means. We sent someone out. Zygmunt. A good man. His orders were to follow the trains out of Warsaw. He got to Sokolow. A local railwayman told him the tracks are divided, one branch leading to Treblinka. He said every day freight trains carrying people from Warsaw forked to Treblinka and returned empty. No transports of food are ever seen on that line. And civilians are forbidden to approach the Treblinka station. They're exterminating us. Won't take them long. We're sixty thousand left. Out of half a million. Mostly young people. And this time we're going to fight. We're in good shape. We're organised. We're prepared. SZPILMAN If you need help... Whistle blows. A little later: Szpilman again mounting the ramp with a hod full of bricks on his back. The noise of airplanes overhead. EXT. SKY - DAY A swarm of Russian bombers. Anti-aircraft fire. Puffs of exploding shells. EXT. BUILDING SITE - DAY The workers look up. So does Szpilman and, as he does so, the bricks slide off his hod, crashing to the ground below. ZICK-ZACK You! An SS man, ZICK-ZACK (his nickname), with a whip, approaches Szpilman. ZICK-ZACK Here! Szpilman goes to him. Enraged, Zick-Zack grabs him by the hair and presses his head hard between his thighs and then beats him mercilessly. ZICK-ZACK (with every stroke, hissing through clenched teeth) Und-zick! Und-zack! Und-zick! Und- zack! After a dozen or so strokes, Szpilman falls forward and lies in the dirt. Zick-Zack nods, satisfied. ZICK-ZACK Get him away from here. Two Poles, without armbands, one of them Bartczak, drag him away. Bartczak and the other man help Szpilman to his feet. BARTCZAK Hope you played the piano better than you carry bricks. POLISH WORKMAN He won't last long if he goes on like this. BARTCZAK I'll see if I can get him something better. INT./EXT. STORES AND BUILDING SITE - DAY Winter. Rain. Cold. The store, a wooden hut, contains wood, nails, tools, paint, metal brackets. Szpilman sits at a table, where a line of workers has formed. Szpilman makes a record in a ledger of the tools each worker takes out on the site. A worker puts his head into the store. WORKER (hissing) Trouble. A GERMAN VOICE Assemble! Fall in! Only the Jews! Poles go on working! Only the Jews! Poles go on working! The Jewish workers start to assemble on the site in haphazard ranks as an SS Captain strides in. The SS Captain, with much jollity and jokes, hops up on to scaffolding and stands, beaming broadly, surveying the workers. SS CAPTAIN (in English) I have important and good news for you. There are rumours circulating that resettlement measures are again going to be taken. A glance between Szpilman and Majorek. SS CAPTAIN (in English) I want to assure you personally that no such measures will be taken now or in the future. Posters will be going up also to this effect. As proof of our good will, we want you to select a delegate, who will be permitted to go into town once a day to buy, on each worker's behalf, five kilos of potatoes and one loaf of bread, which you will be allowed to take back into the ghetto. Now, why would we do that j if we meant to resettle you? He beams; no reaction from the workers. SS CAPTAIN (in English) You can do good business on what you don't eat. Isn't that what you Jews are best at? Making 'geld'? Rubs thumb and forefinger and leers; still no reaction; his smile vanishes. SS CAPTAIN (in English) Carry on. EXT. BUILDING SITE - DAY Snow. Majorek pulls a barrow by a rope attached to its shaft across the site. On the barrow, five sacks. The Jewish workers are phased to see him. Majorek pulls the barrow to where Szpilman waits. MAJOREK (under his breath) The smaller one. At the bottom. Szpilman nods and starts unloading the sacks as Majorek moves away. INT. STORES - DAY Szpilman has unpacked the sacks and laid them in the corner. He kneels before the smallest of the sacks and unties the string around its neck. He puts his hand inside the sack and potatoes tumble out. He reaches to the bottom and is still as his hand finds something. Carefully, he removes a pistol, then another, both wrapped in oil cloths. He hides them under his jacket. INT./EXT. STORES AND BUILDING SITE - NIGHT Szpilman and a Jewish worker distribute the potatoes to the other Jewish workers lined up with empty containers of various kinds. There are scales on the table, and they weigh out five kilos of potatoes, pour them into the men's containers and drop in a loaf of bread. EXT. STREET LEADING TO GHETTO - NIGHT The Jewish workers, all carrying their parcels of potatoes and bread, march back towards the ghetto gates escorted by two Polish policemen. Szpilman walks beside them. Ahead of him, Majorek near the front of the column. As the column nears the ghetto gates, Majorek tosses his package over the wall and when Szpilman reaches the same spot, he throws a similar package. The column marches on. INT. JEWISH BARRACKS - NIGHT A small room with several three-tiered bunk beds. The sound of men's heavy breathing and snoring. Szpilman lies awake, staring at the ceiling. He reaches inside his jacket, finds a scrap of paper and a pencil, writes something. He slips off his bunk and crosses to another set of bunks, crouches down at the bottom one, where Majorek sleeps. SZPILMAN (whispered) Majorek! Majorek is instantly awake. SZPILMAN Have a favour to ask. I want to get out of here. MAJOREK It's easy to get out, it's how you survive on the other side that's hard. SZPILMAN I know. But last summer, I worked for a day in Zelazna Brama Square. I saw someone I knew. A singer. Her husband's an actor. They're old friends. ( (He holds out the " piece of paper.) I've written their names down. And their address. If they're still there. Janina Godlewska and Andrzej Bogucki. Good people. Majorek, you go into the town every day. Would you try and make contact? Ask them if they'd help me get out of here? Majorek takes the paper but says nothing. He turns over and goes back to sleep. Szpilman returns to his bunk. INT. STORES - DAY Szpilman has unloaded the sacks of potatoes into the corner and is kneeling, about to untie the string on the smallest sack. A sound alerts him. He looks round. An SS Lieutenant has entered the stores, sucking his finger, which is bleeding. SS LIEUTENANT Any fucking plaster? Szpilman immediately hurries to a cupboard, finds a First Aid tin, removes a plaster and gives it to the SS Lieutenant. SS LIEUTENANT'S VOICE (while he applies the plaster to his finger) What were you up to? Nothing from Szpilman. SS LIEUTENANT'S VOICE What the fuck are those? He indicates the sacks with his chin. SZPILMAN (in German) We're allowed to take food into the ghetto. Five kilos of potatoes and a... The SS Lieutenant walks over to the sacks and kicks the smallest one. SS LIEUTENANT Open it. SZPILMAN It's only potatoes and bread. SS LIEUTENANT Fuck that, you're lying, I can smell it. Open it. Szpilman tries to untie the string, but he's too terrified and can't manage it. The SS Lieutenant shoves him out of the way, then takes from his belt a dagger and cuts the string. The SS Lieutenant reaches in and withdraws a handful of long yellow beans. He glowers at Szpilman, reaches in again, produces a handful of oatmeal. SS LIEUTENANT You're all the same. Give a Jew a little finger, he takes the whole hand. He throws the oatmeal in Szpilman's face. SS LIEUTENANT You lie to me again and I'll shoot you personally. He kicks Szpilman viciously and marches away. Szpilman catches his breath, then quickly reaches into the bottom of the sack and finds a pistol and ammunition. He hides them under his clothes. EXT. STREET LEADING TO GHETTO - NIGHT Freezing cold. The Jewish workers, with their bundles of potatoes and bread, march back towards the ghetto gates escorted by the two Polish policemen. In the column, Szpilman, near the policeman with the moustache, and a little behind them, Majorek. Distant sounds of gunfire. Majorek falls in beside Szpilman. MAJOREK I tried your friends. They're not at that address any more. But. SZPILMAN You made contact? MAJOREK Be ready to leave in two days' time. Same place as last night. Sudden, frantic cries from the head of the column, which comes to a stop. Two SS men, blind drunk, drinking vodka from bottles, are lashing the column with whips. One of them is Zikk-Zack, . SZPILMAN Oh, shit! As the SS men advance on Szpilman and Majorek's section, Majorek slips back to his place in the column. Szpilman hides his package inside his coat. Zick-Zack lashes out at the workers blindly. ZICK-ZACK Und-zick! Und-zack! He takes a swig of vodka and comes face to face with Szpilman. ZICK-ZACK (shouting") I'll soon teach you discipline! Jew pigs! He is staring directly at Szpilman with glassy eyes. Szpilman is terrified, trying as surreptitiously as possible to cover his hidden package with his hands. A moment of danger. Zick-Zack grabs Szpilman by the cottar. ZICK-ZACK Know why we beat you? No response; shaking him. ZICK-ZACK Know why we beat you? SZPILMAN (tentatively, in German) No. Why? ZICK-ZACK To celebrate New Year's Eve! He and his comrade find this hilarious; recovering from his laughter.