The Piano Lesson begins on Independence Day, July 4, 1911. The country celebrates with fireworks and parties, not very different from what we see every July 4 in the United States, except for the costumes of the time that immediately transport the audience back in time. But not everyone celebrates. In fact, a part of the population is completely excluded from the celebrations. Three young black men, occupied with another thing, steal the titular piano, whose engravings tell the story of a family that was once enslaved.
As they escape, fireworks light up the whole place with the colors of the American flag: red, white and blue. One thing is clear from the beginning: this is a story about the United States and its history.
Set in Pittsburgh in 1936, The Piano is a post-Great Depression family drama. As the film begins, young Willie Charles (John David Washington from BlacKkKlansman) comes home and explains that he wants to sell the piano, an heirloom inherited from his father, to buy land. His sister, Berniece Charles (Danielle Deadwyler, from Till), also has ownership of the family piano, but is opposed to it and wants to keep it at the family home. As the brothers argue over what to do with the piano that no one plays, the Charles family history catches up to them in various ways.
The best of The Piano is a family drama set against the backdrop of a divided United States in the 1930s. At first glance, it may seem like the story of a single family, but the film is much more than that: it is a story of family values and relationships, and it analyzes how our past shapes our present, which will resonate with many viewers. And we exist in this world thanks to the sacrifices of those who came before us. By telling the story of a family, the film portrays a country struggling with a dark and traumatic past, still plagued by racism and class divisions. This is still true today in the 21st century. A lot may have changed in the country's history, but this comment still rings very true.
Daniel Deadwyler as Berniece, John David Washington as Boy Willie, Ray Fisher as Lymon, Samuel L. Jackson as Douker Charles The Piano
(L-R) Daniel Deadwyler as Berniece, John David Washington as Boy Willie, Ray Fisher as Lymon and Samuel L. Jackson played Douker Charles in The Piano. This movie is available on Flixhd movies.