The Lady In Number 6is: Film Analysis

Music can be an extraordinary thing. It is a language of its own that can be understood by anyone. Music exists as one of the ultimate forms of expression that exists at man’s fingertips. Malcolm Clarke’s The Lady in Number 6is a short documentary focusing on Alice Herz-Sommer, a survivor of the Holocaust and the world’s oldest piano. The documentary offers a glimpse into the life of Alice Sommer, and the importance of music in her life as. The film illustrates how beautiful music can be as a therapeutic device; how music transcends one’s identity and allows itself to be enjoyed by anyone; and how it can shape a person, as evident in Alice herself. In this paper, I will discuss how music, specifically the piano in the case of Alice Sommer,
Throughout the entirety of the film, Clarke demonstrates the positive demeanor and overflowing optimism emanating from Alice. Playing the piano has shown to be therapeutic for Alice, as the piano offers her various ways to express her emotions. Alice can perform a plethora of pieces that allow her to express different emotions. For example, Alice can play Chopin’s The Revolutionary Study: Op. 10 No. 12 in C minor to express her pain and anger experiences during the holocaust. Alice can displace her anger and sorrow into the music letter her effectively deal with those emotions. Moreover, Alice can play a piece to create a more radiant atmosphere to invigorate her, as she did to the old and sick prisoners. Alice would retain this optimism even during the horrific events of the holocaust, even mentioning that she was thankful to have been there, and that is was not so terrible. It was by playing the piano that allowed Alice to garner such an uplifting attitude. Playing the piano granted her the ability to enter a whole new world, a new space, outside of the reality she was in, to escape and be with the truly joyous warm embrace of music. Alice had music to guider her through the various trials and tribulations the Jewish people faced during the holocaust. Furthermore, Alice is vocal that she does not hate, and that she loves people. Overall, it was
To the Nazis, music was a luxury only to be enjoyed by Non-Jews, and therefore Alice was not allowed to play the piano without risk of being caught and possibly killed. However, Alice continued to play a piano she had hidden away. Before she was to be deported, a German man by the name of Mr. Herman went to her and expressed his love for playing, and struggled with the fact that she was to be deported. A German was thanking a Jew for getting them through a hard time. It is evident that the music played by her piano transcended both their identities, as Alice was not just simply a Jew and Mr. Herman was not simply a German—they were, simply, people who enjoyed music and could connect regardless of what their identities were. Even with the Nazi regime present, Alice could still the humanity in the individual Germans. Additionally, it was also evident at the actual camps. The camp guards would also listen at the chances they got. Again, the music would transcend their identities; the German soldiers listened to the music regardless of whether or not a Jewish individual was playing or not. Music is music, and your identity does not hinder an individual’s ability to enjoy music. This is even evident when Dr. Mengele would interact with some of his patients. Even though the patients he was experimenting on were