The film is directed by Switzerland’s Peter Luisi, whose other credits include The Sandman and Streaker.
Munich-based sales outfit Global Screen has picked up worldwide distribution rights to drama Princess ahead of its market premiere at the Pre-Cannes Screenings event (June 21-25).
The film is written and directed by Switzerland’s Peter Luisi, whose other credits include The Sandman and Streaker, and stars Matthias Habich, Johanna Bantzer, Fabian Krüger, Anne Haug and Lia Hahne.
Set in 1985, it revolves around Joseph, an alcoholic man who lives alone and neglected in a rundown two-family house. When his younger sister, a single-parent,...
Munich-based sales outfit Global Screen has picked up worldwide distribution rights to drama Princess ahead of its market premiere at the Pre-Cannes Screenings event (June 21-25).
The film is written and directed by Switzerland’s Peter Luisi, whose other credits include The Sandman and Streaker, and stars Matthias Habich, Johanna Bantzer, Fabian Krüger, Anne Haug and Lia Hahne.
Set in 1985, it revolves around Joseph, an alcoholic man who lives alone and neglected in a rundown two-family house. When his younger sister, a single-parent,...
- 6/1/2021
- by Geoffrey Macnab
- ScreenDaily
The Traverse City Film Festival is celebrating its 14th year in 2018 by bringing together some of the year’s best indies and documentaries, plus classics from Jonathan Demme, Hal Ashby, and more. The Michigan-set festival, backed by Michael Moore, is being run in 2018 by directors Susan Fisher and Meg Weichman, who have worked on the festival for nearly a decade and have been at the helm since December.
Tickets for this year’s edition will go on sale to the public on Saturday, July 21 (click here for the official festival website). Friends of the Film Festival will be able to get early access to tickets with advance sales starting Sunday, July 15.
The full lineup for the 2018 Traverse City Film Festival is below.
Opening Night: “Rbg”
Centerpiece: “Hearts Beat Loud”
Closing Night: “Burden”
Open Space
“Stop Making Sense,” Jonathan Demme
“Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle,” Jake Kasdan
“Coco,” Lee Unkrich
“Black Panther,...
Tickets for this year’s edition will go on sale to the public on Saturday, July 21 (click here for the official festival website). Friends of the Film Festival will be able to get early access to tickets with advance sales starting Sunday, July 15.
The full lineup for the 2018 Traverse City Film Festival is below.
Opening Night: “Rbg”
Centerpiece: “Hearts Beat Loud”
Closing Night: “Burden”
Open Space
“Stop Making Sense,” Jonathan Demme
“Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle,” Jake Kasdan
“Coco,” Lee Unkrich
“Black Panther,...
- 6/29/2018
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
Multicom Entertainment Group has taken all English-speaking territories.
Berlin-based sales company M-Appeal has struck a series of deals for its football comedy Streaker (Flitzer).
The film has sold to English-speaking territories (Multicom Entertainment Group), South East Asia (Astro), Latin America (Dmd Limited), Colombia (Vo Cines), Slovenia (Rtv Slovenia), Poland (Nc Plus Poland) and South Korea (Peterpan Pictures).
Vo Cines has a Colombian theatrical release planned for this summer’s football World Cup.
Directed, and written by Peter Luisi, the film follows a high school teacher who, in the midst of a financial crisis, begins recruiting and training streakers (i.e.
Berlin-based sales company M-Appeal has struck a series of deals for its football comedy Streaker (Flitzer).
The film has sold to English-speaking territories (Multicom Entertainment Group), South East Asia (Astro), Latin America (Dmd Limited), Colombia (Vo Cines), Slovenia (Rtv Slovenia), Poland (Nc Plus Poland) and South Korea (Peterpan Pictures).
Vo Cines has a Colombian theatrical release planned for this summer’s football World Cup.
Directed, and written by Peter Luisi, the film follows a high school teacher who, in the midst of a financial crisis, begins recruiting and training streakers (i.e.
- 5/4/2018
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
The results are in and the two heavy favorites, Lav Diaz and Pedro Costa, have both received major awards.
Concorso internazionale
Golden Leopard
From What is Before (Lav Diaz, Philippines)
Special Jury Prize
Listen Up Philip (Alex Ross Perry, USA)
Best Director
Pedro Costa for Horse Money (Portugal)
Best Actor
Artem Bystrov for The Fool (Yury Bykov, Russia)
Special Mention
Ventos de Agosto (Gabriel Mascaro, Brazil)
Concorso Cineasti del presente
Pardo d’oro Cineasti del presente – Premio Nescens
Navajazo (Ricardo Silva, Mexico)
Premio speciale della giuria Ciné+ Cineasti del presente
Los Hongos (Oscar Ruiz Navia, Colombia/France/Argentina/Germany)
Premio per il miglior regista emergente
The Creation of Meaning (Simone Rapisarda Casanova, Canada/Italy)
Special Mention
Un jeune poete (Damien Manivel, France)
Opera Prima
Pardo per la migliore opera prima
Songs From the North (Soon-mi Yoo, USA/South Korea/Portugal)
Special Mention
Parole De Kamizake (Sawada Masa, France)
Pardi di...
Concorso internazionale
Golden Leopard
From What is Before (Lav Diaz, Philippines)
Special Jury Prize
Listen Up Philip (Alex Ross Perry, USA)
Best Director
Pedro Costa for Horse Money (Portugal)
Best Actor
Artem Bystrov for The Fool (Yury Bykov, Russia)
Special Mention
Ventos de Agosto (Gabriel Mascaro, Brazil)
Concorso Cineasti del presente
Pardo d’oro Cineasti del presente – Premio Nescens
Navajazo (Ricardo Silva, Mexico)
Premio speciale della giuria Ciné+ Cineasti del presente
Los Hongos (Oscar Ruiz Navia, Colombia/France/Argentina/Germany)
Premio per il miglior regista emergente
The Creation of Meaning (Simone Rapisarda Casanova, Canada/Italy)
Special Mention
Un jeune poete (Damien Manivel, France)
Opera Prima
Pardo per la migliore opera prima
Songs From the North (Soon-mi Yoo, USA/South Korea/Portugal)
Special Mention
Parole De Kamizake (Sawada Masa, France)
Pardi di...
- 8/17/2014
- by Notebook
- MUBI
Locarno’s Golden Leopard has been awarded to Filipino director Lav Diaz’s five-and-a-half-hour epic From What Is Before.Scroll down for full list of winners
The film, which has the Filipino title Mula sa kung ano ang noon, also picked up the Fipresci International Critics Prize, the Environment is Quality of Life Prize, and the International Federation of Film Societies’ (Iffs) Don Quixote Prize.
On learning that he had won Locarno’s top honour, Diaz said that he wanted to dedicate the award to his father.
“He brought me cinema, he’s a cinema addict, and he started this passion in me,” said Diaz.
“For the Filipino people, it’s for them, for their struggle, and then I would like to dedicate it to all serious filmmakers in the world, to Pedro Costa, he’s my brother and I love his work, to Matias Pineiro, and to the makers of all the other films in the...
The film, which has the Filipino title Mula sa kung ano ang noon, also picked up the Fipresci International Critics Prize, the Environment is Quality of Life Prize, and the International Federation of Film Societies’ (Iffs) Don Quixote Prize.
On learning that he had won Locarno’s top honour, Diaz said that he wanted to dedicate the award to his father.
“He brought me cinema, he’s a cinema addict, and he started this passion in me,” said Diaz.
“For the Filipino people, it’s for them, for their struggle, and then I would like to dedicate it to all serious filmmakers in the world, to Pedro Costa, he’s my brother and I love his work, to Matias Pineiro, and to the makers of all the other films in the...
- 8/16/2014
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Locarno director talks highlights and UK presence at the festival and looks to 2015.
Locarno festival director Carlo Chatrian has outlined some of his highlights and regrets from this year’s festival, and ambitions for next year, in an exclusive interview with ScreenDaily ahead of the event’s closing weekend.
“Experiencing cinema as a community”, is high up on the list of this year’s treats, he said.
The world premiere of Swiss film-maker Peter Luisi’s Unlikely Heroes on Wednesday (Aug 13) was “one of those nights on the Piazza where you really felt that the audience is with the film.
“There was a lot of applause and people came up to me afterwards with great enthusiasm. I think Unlikely Heroes is the kind of film which works very well because it’s strongly experiencing cinema as a community,” he continued.
He added that he had also been “very happy“ with the night on the Piazza Grande when Agnes Varda...
Locarno festival director Carlo Chatrian has outlined some of his highlights and regrets from this year’s festival, and ambitions for next year, in an exclusive interview with ScreenDaily ahead of the event’s closing weekend.
“Experiencing cinema as a community”, is high up on the list of this year’s treats, he said.
The world premiere of Swiss film-maker Peter Luisi’s Unlikely Heroes on Wednesday (Aug 13) was “one of those nights on the Piazza where you really felt that the audience is with the film.
“There was a lot of applause and people came up to me afterwards with great enthusiasm. I think Unlikely Heroes is the kind of film which works very well because it’s strongly experiencing cinema as a community,” he continued.
He added that he had also been “very happy“ with the night on the Piazza Grande when Agnes Varda...
- 8/15/2014
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Locarno director talks highlights and UK presence at the festival and looks to 2016.
Locarno festival director Carlo Chatrian has outlined some of his highlights and regrets from this year’s festival, and ambitions for next year, in an exclusive interview with Screen Daily ahead of the event’s closing weekend.
“Experiencing cinema as a community”, is high up on the list of this year’s treats, he said.
The world premiere of Swiss film-maker Peter Luisi’s Unlikely Heroes on Wednesday (Aug 13) was “one of those nights on the Piazza where you really felt that the audience is with the film.
“There was a lot of applause and people came up to me afterwards with great enthusiasm. I think Unlikely Heroes is the kind of film which works very well because it’s strongly experiencing cinema as a community,” he continued.
He added that he had also been “very happy“ with the night on the Piazza Grande...
Locarno festival director Carlo Chatrian has outlined some of his highlights and regrets from this year’s festival, and ambitions for next year, in an exclusive interview with Screen Daily ahead of the event’s closing weekend.
“Experiencing cinema as a community”, is high up on the list of this year’s treats, he said.
The world premiere of Swiss film-maker Peter Luisi’s Unlikely Heroes on Wednesday (Aug 13) was “one of those nights on the Piazza where you really felt that the audience is with the film.
“There was a lot of applause and people came up to me afterwards with great enthusiasm. I think Unlikely Heroes is the kind of film which works very well because it’s strongly experiencing cinema as a community,” he continued.
He added that he had also been “very happy“ with the night on the Piazza Grande...
- 8/15/2014
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Young Swiss filmmakers are calling for greater diversity in Swiss fiction production and the introduction of a new funding instrument to support up-and-coming directors.
Gathered together as the Swiss Fiction Movement (Sfm), the film-makers are holding their first public debate to air their grievances and proposals on the second day (Aug 7) of this year’s Locarno Film Festival.
In a paper described in advance as the Locarno Manifesto, the Sfm’s founders argue that the Swiss national funding system is currently concentrated on the support of large productions and that small productions “can only be made outside of the official funding landscape and with the aid of alternative financing”.
The examples of the UK’s Microwave scheme or Germany’s Das kleine Fernsehspiel are cited as successful initiatives in other countries which have been supporting and producing low-budget productions for many years.
At the same time, the filmmakers point to the ironic situation where the main prizes...
Gathered together as the Swiss Fiction Movement (Sfm), the film-makers are holding their first public debate to air their grievances and proposals on the second day (Aug 7) of this year’s Locarno Film Festival.
In a paper described in advance as the Locarno Manifesto, the Sfm’s founders argue that the Swiss national funding system is currently concentrated on the support of large productions and that small productions “can only be made outside of the official funding landscape and with the aid of alternative financing”.
The examples of the UK’s Microwave scheme or Germany’s Das kleine Fernsehspiel are cited as successful initiatives in other countries which have been supporting and producing low-budget productions for many years.
At the same time, the filmmakers point to the ironic situation where the main prizes...
- 8/7/2014
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Above: Pedro Costa's Horse Money
The Locarno Film Festival has announced their lineup for the 67th edition, taking place this August between the 6th and 16th. It speaks for itself, but, um, wow...
"Every film festival, be it small or large, claims to offer, if not an account of the state of things, then an updated map of the art form and the world it seeks to represent. This cartography should show both the major routes and the byways, along with essential places to visit and those that are more unusual. The Festival del film Locarno is no exception to the rule, and I think that looking through the program you will be able to distinguish the route map for this edition." — Carlo Chatrian, Artistic Director
Above: Matías Piñeiro's The Princess of France
Concorso Internazionale (Official Competition)
A Blast (Syllas Tzoumerkas, Greece/Germany/Netherlands)
Alive (Jungbum Park, South Korea)
Horse Money (Pedro Costa,...
The Locarno Film Festival has announced their lineup for the 67th edition, taking place this August between the 6th and 16th. It speaks for itself, but, um, wow...
"Every film festival, be it small or large, claims to offer, if not an account of the state of things, then an updated map of the art form and the world it seeks to represent. This cartography should show both the major routes and the byways, along with essential places to visit and those that are more unusual. The Festival del film Locarno is no exception to the rule, and I think that looking through the program you will be able to distinguish the route map for this edition." — Carlo Chatrian, Artistic Director
Above: Matías Piñeiro's The Princess of France
Concorso Internazionale (Official Competition)
A Blast (Syllas Tzoumerkas, Greece/Germany/Netherlands)
Alive (Jungbum Park, South Korea)
Horse Money (Pedro Costa,...
- 7/25/2014
- by Notebook
- MUBI
13 of the 17 films competing for the Golden Leopard are world premieres; Juliette Binoche to receive Excellence Award.
Full details of the line-up for the 67th Locarno Film Festival, which runs August 6-16, were unveiled at a press conference in the Swiss capital Berne today.
13 of the 17 films competing for the Golden Leopard in the festival’s International Competition section are world premiers including Syllas Tzoumerkas’s A Blast [pictured], Jungbum Park’s Alive (South Korea), Paul Vecchiali’s White Nights On The Pier (France) and Yury Bykov’s The Fool (Russia). International premieres include Alex Ross Perry’s hotly antipated Us comedy Listen Up Philip starring Jason Schwartzman who is expected to attend.
The Piazza Grande line-up includes the international premieres of Eran Riklis’ Dancing Arabs, Aaron Katz and Martha Stephens’ critically acclaimed Iceland set Land Ho! Which world premiered at Sundance, and Olivier Assayas’ Clouds Of Sils Maria, which played in competition in Cannes. World premieres...
Full details of the line-up for the 67th Locarno Film Festival, which runs August 6-16, were unveiled at a press conference in the Swiss capital Berne today.
13 of the 17 films competing for the Golden Leopard in the festival’s International Competition section are world premiers including Syllas Tzoumerkas’s A Blast [pictured], Jungbum Park’s Alive (South Korea), Paul Vecchiali’s White Nights On The Pier (France) and Yury Bykov’s The Fool (Russia). International premieres include Alex Ross Perry’s hotly antipated Us comedy Listen Up Philip starring Jason Schwartzman who is expected to attend.
The Piazza Grande line-up includes the international premieres of Eran Riklis’ Dancing Arabs, Aaron Katz and Martha Stephens’ critically acclaimed Iceland set Land Ho! Which world premiered at Sundance, and Olivier Assayas’ Clouds Of Sils Maria, which played in competition in Cannes. World premieres...
- 7/16/2014
- by sarah.cooper@screendaily.com (Sarah Cooper)
- ScreenDaily
Chicago – As the 48th Annual Chicago International Film Festival reaches its halfway point with its enormously anticipated centerpiece screening of Tom Tykwer, Andy and Lana Wachowski’s star-studded epic, “Cloud Atlas,” Hollywood Chicago will continue to single out an array of titles that are not to be missed. Here are the highlights covering October 15th to October 17th, 2012 (stay tuned on the 18th for more highlights).
The second installment of our Ciff 2012 preview includes an astonishing stop-motion epic from a Chicago animator, a brain-twisting and unapologetically sensual teen drama from Switzerland and the latest work from David Chase, best known as the creator of HBO’s hit crime series, “The Sopranos.” Chase is among the many filmmakers scheduled to attend the screenings of their own films, and it must be said that the post-film Q&As are often the brightest highlights for cinephiles.
Among the top tier of films screening...
The second installment of our Ciff 2012 preview includes an astonishing stop-motion epic from a Chicago animator, a brain-twisting and unapologetically sensual teen drama from Switzerland and the latest work from David Chase, best known as the creator of HBO’s hit crime series, “The Sopranos.” Chase is among the many filmmakers scheduled to attend the screenings of their own films, and it must be said that the post-film Q&As are often the brightest highlights for cinephiles.
Among the top tier of films screening...
- 10/15/2012
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Wichita, Kansas may mostly be known for being in the middle of Tornado Alley and for its miles and miles of grasslands; however, for one weekend in October, the city of Wichita welcomes a slew of indie films--45 features to be exact--to screen in the capital. Highlights of the festival include the film's opener, Peter Luisi's "The Sandman," closing night film "Elevate" from Wichita native Anne Buford, centerpiece film "Never ...
- 10/7/2011
- Indiewire
What would you do if you woke up one morning to find sand in your bed? You haven’t gone to the beach and you didn’t do anything at night besides dream a very realistic dream with sun and sights. Your boss at a local stamp collecting shop made mention of seeing granules around the front desk—saying he’d like to kick the knee of whomever is bringing in such dirt—your doctor gives you a clean bill of health, and your shrink thinks you’re sharing a nicely constructed metaphor on your life. All this is what Benno (Fabian Krüger) must contend with in Peter Luisi’s Der Sandmann [The Sandman], screened at the Vancouver International Film Festival. Dealing with existentialism in a very Kafkaesque way—bearing a resemblance to an odd film from a few years back called Bartleby—Benno begins to think he is going crazy, unable...
- 10/4/2011
- by jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
- The Film Stage
Wichita’s own Tallgrass Film Festival announced its feature lineup, and a schedule of events Friday. The ninth annual Tallgrass Film Festival is coming to 16 venues in the heart of downtown Wichita and the surrounding area from Oct. 20-23, and will showcase 44 independent feature films representing 18 countries from around the world.
“Get Twisted,” this year’s theme is “a nod to the state of Kansas’ notorious weather patterns, as well as to the beauty of independent filmmaking, which allows filmmakers to tell interesting, unique and non-formulaic stories.”
“The Tallgrass Programming Committee has worked for several months and is extremely proud of the 2011 feature film lineup,” said Co-Director of Programming Nick Pope. “The team has strived to fill the weekend with films that will connect with an audience of varied taste. We’re excited about the amount of world cinema represented in the program and are pleased to be bringing in...
“Get Twisted,” this year’s theme is “a nod to the state of Kansas’ notorious weather patterns, as well as to the beauty of independent filmmaking, which allows filmmakers to tell interesting, unique and non-formulaic stories.”
“The Tallgrass Programming Committee has worked for several months and is extremely proud of the 2011 feature film lineup,” said Co-Director of Programming Nick Pope. “The team has strived to fill the weekend with films that will connect with an audience of varied taste. We’re excited about the amount of world cinema represented in the program and are pleased to be bringing in...
- 10/1/2011
- by The Moving Arts
- The Moving Arts Journal
The Arizona Underground Film Festival has announced their list of award winners for their 4th annual edition that rocked the Tucson area last week on Sept. 16-24.
Jack Perez’s Some Guy Who Kills People took home the top award as Best of the Fest. The dark, comedic thriller stars Kevin Corrigan and Karen Black; and was executive produced by John Landis.
Other winners include the neo-grindhouse biker bloodbath Dear God No!, directed by James Bickert, which took home Best Exploitation. You can watch the trailer for Dear God No! here. Also, Adam Rehmeier’s controversial The Bunny Game took home Best Horror Feature, Susan Marks’ Of Dolls and Murder took home Best Documentary Feature and Albert Birney & Jon Moses’ The Beast Pageant won for Best Experimental Feature.
Auff also gave out lots of awards to short films, including Gregory Erdstein’s Facing Rupert (Best Narrative Short), Todd Cobry’s Good Morning,...
Jack Perez’s Some Guy Who Kills People took home the top award as Best of the Fest. The dark, comedic thriller stars Kevin Corrigan and Karen Black; and was executive produced by John Landis.
Other winners include the neo-grindhouse biker bloodbath Dear God No!, directed by James Bickert, which took home Best Exploitation. You can watch the trailer for Dear God No! here. Also, Adam Rehmeier’s controversial The Bunny Game took home Best Horror Feature, Susan Marks’ Of Dolls and Murder took home Best Documentary Feature and Albert Birney & Jon Moses’ The Beast Pageant won for Best Experimental Feature.
Auff also gave out lots of awards to short films, including Gregory Erdstein’s Facing Rupert (Best Narrative Short), Todd Cobry’s Good Morning,...
- 9/26/2011
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
The Arizona Underground Film Festival keeps picking and screening the best in world extreme cinema and their fourth annual edition, which will run Sep. 16-24 in Tucson is no exception, compiling outrageous cult epics from countries such as Japan, Switzerland and Cuba; as well as some local nastiness produced in the fest’s own backyard.
The fest opens with Jack Perez’s Some Guy Who Kills People, a comedy thriller executive produced by John Landis and starring Kevin Corrigan as a loser who gets sadistic revenge on those he feels have wronged him.
While the opening night film is a big name affair, Auff is also celebrating local freaky film fare with films such as the film noir Sweet Love and Deadly, directed by Paul Clinco; and the horror comedy Dick Night, directed by Andy Viner.
From elsewhere around the U.S., there’s the fest’s annual celebration of extreme cinema,...
The fest opens with Jack Perez’s Some Guy Who Kills People, a comedy thriller executive produced by John Landis and starring Kevin Corrigan as a loser who gets sadistic revenge on those he feels have wronged him.
While the opening night film is a big name affair, Auff is also celebrating local freaky film fare with films such as the film noir Sweet Love and Deadly, directed by Paul Clinco; and the horror comedy Dick Night, directed by Andy Viner.
From elsewhere around the U.S., there’s the fest’s annual celebration of extreme cinema,...
- 8/30/2011
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
The Sandman is a new comedy from Switzerland about a guy whose body literally starts to deteriorate and turn to sand like some sort of demented hourglass. I don't know about you, but I've felt like that before. It is directed by Peter Luisi and is starting to premier at fests in Europe.
Synopsis:
One fine morning, Benno finds sand in his bed. While he tries to ignore this at first, he soon must realize that he himself is loosing the sand. Day after day the sand increases and soon his time literally starts running short. Finally he is left no chice but to ask Sandra for help, who runs a coffee shop under his apartment. Although Benno hates her with a passion, he started having dreams of her every night. What could Sandra and the dreams have to do with the sand?
Check out the trailer for The Sandman after the break.
Synopsis:
One fine morning, Benno finds sand in his bed. While he tries to ignore this at first, he soon must realize that he himself is loosing the sand. Day after day the sand increases and soon his time literally starts running short. Finally he is left no chice but to ask Sandra for help, who runs a coffee shop under his apartment. Although Benno hates her with a passion, he started having dreams of her every night. What could Sandra and the dreams have to do with the sand?
Check out the trailer for The Sandman after the break.
- 6/20/2011
- QuietEarth.us
Vitusfilm in collaboration with Hugofilm & FMM
Although a tad sentimental, "Vitus" is charming and smart in how it deals with its fascinating central character, a very young child prodigy, and the problems he experiences because of his overheated brain power. The film certainly would play well in upscale North American specialty venues. And as Switzerland's entry in the foreign-language Oscar derby, it could land a nomination because the Academy committee loves films about grandfathers and grandchildren.
Vitus is a wunderkind who reads books at age 5, calculates math in his head and plays the piano like a virtuoso. Two rather remarkable children play this character -- 6-year-old Fabrizio Borsani and 12-year-old Teo Gheorghiu, both amazing pianists and good actors to boot.
Vitus' parents (Julika Jenkins and Urs Jucker) are thrilled by their son's astonishing abilities. They see a bright future for him as a musician. In the mother's case, she might be counting on it too much.
Vitus, though, is often unhappy and even downright cheeky as school fails to challenge him. What he most desperately wants is to be "normal." He sometimes accomplishes this by hanging out with his cheerful, eccentric grandfather (the great Swiss actor Bruno Ganz), who loves to tinker in his workshop building flying machines. Then one day, using a flying machine, Vitus takes the leap that will allow him to take control of his life.
Written by Peter Luisi, Fredi M. Murer and Lukas B. Suter and directed by Murer, "Vitus" ably mixes the comic and dramatic situations arising from this story.
A fine cast, even in smaller roles, is alert to all the subtle possibilities in the intriguing story. And the third act is a doozy with a great payoff involving the boy and his granddad. Yet the central attraction is Vitus himself, a wonderful, often quite funny character to be around.
Although a tad sentimental, "Vitus" is charming and smart in how it deals with its fascinating central character, a very young child prodigy, and the problems he experiences because of his overheated brain power. The film certainly would play well in upscale North American specialty venues. And as Switzerland's entry in the foreign-language Oscar derby, it could land a nomination because the Academy committee loves films about grandfathers and grandchildren.
Vitus is a wunderkind who reads books at age 5, calculates math in his head and plays the piano like a virtuoso. Two rather remarkable children play this character -- 6-year-old Fabrizio Borsani and 12-year-old Teo Gheorghiu, both amazing pianists and good actors to boot.
Vitus' parents (Julika Jenkins and Urs Jucker) are thrilled by their son's astonishing abilities. They see a bright future for him as a musician. In the mother's case, she might be counting on it too much.
Vitus, though, is often unhappy and even downright cheeky as school fails to challenge him. What he most desperately wants is to be "normal." He sometimes accomplishes this by hanging out with his cheerful, eccentric grandfather (the great Swiss actor Bruno Ganz), who loves to tinker in his workshop building flying machines. Then one day, using a flying machine, Vitus takes the leap that will allow him to take control of his life.
Written by Peter Luisi, Fredi M. Murer and Lukas B. Suter and directed by Murer, "Vitus" ably mixes the comic and dramatic situations arising from this story.
A fine cast, even in smaller roles, is alert to all the subtle possibilities in the intriguing story. And the third act is a doozy with a great payoff involving the boy and his granddad. Yet the central attraction is Vitus himself, a wonderful, often quite funny character to be around.
- 11/14/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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