*Spoilers* This is the (fictional) account of Vitus von Holzen, a piano prodigy. In the first third of the movie Vitus is six years old and in the rest he is twelve. The main stroke of brilliance this film has to offer is in the casting of two piano prodigies to play Vitus. Teo Georghiu plays Vitus at age twelve, he was about twelve at the time of the filming and is stunningly talented.
Most people are captivated by genius no matter what the area of expertise, and genius in a young person is particularly fascinating. It seems that the main areas open to childhood prodigies are chess, music, and mathematics and it is not uncommon for a genius in one of these areas to have talents in the others. If you have ever attempted to excel in any area and encounter a person who is so above and beyond what is normally considered excellence, then your appreciation for such a person is heightened. Teo Gheorhiu commands such esteem. By far the high points of the movie for me were in seeing him play and marveling at his ability.
Vitus faces a decision that I assume most prodigies face, and that is how much of their lives should be devoted to developing their gift. To rise to the top, the devotion required would be pretty much all-consuming, or at least it would set them apart from a more normal childhood. Vitus faces such a decision, a decision accentuated by the pressures of his parents to capitalize on his gift and the mockery of his fellow students, since he excels in the classroom as well. It seems that the only person who simply wants Vitus to find his own way is his grandfather (Bruno Ganz in a fine performance), and Vitus establishes a close bond with him.
The internal conflict Vitus faces between conforming and pursuing his talent is set up nicely. In order to fit in, Vitus fakes a diminution of ability after an attempt to put on wings and jump from the second story of his house results in a concussion. It was not clear to me if Vitus purposely staged this event so that he could subsequently fake normalcy, or if he just recognized the possibilities the accident afforded him. But no matter how hard Vitus tries to be an average kid, like buying popular music CDs, his interest in classical music cannot be suppressed and he buys a CD of Bach's Goldberg Variations played by Alexey Botvinov that excites him to try his own playing on his grandfather's piano. Only his grandfather knows that Vitus' talent is still there and Vitus is faking its lack.
This is a great setup for a rich final payoff that is totally squandered in the final third where Vitus starts playing the stock market in order to save his father's job. Due to insider information he makes millions and winds up buying a NASA-sized flight simulator for his aviation loving grandfather. When I saw that thing in Vitus' grandfather's shop, I knew the movie had taken a regrettable wrong turn into fantasy land. For one thing Vitus would have been slapped with an insider trading lawsuit fairly quickly. As he continued to make more millions and bought out his dad's old company, I lost respect for this movie.
In addition to being a piano prodigy, Georghiu is a good actor with a winning personality. Based on the brief interview with him on the DVD extras it would appear that Georghiu has not been tortured by life decision conflicts. He says he wants to play a concert in the Royal Albert Hall by the time he is twenty and also remarks that in order to make a lot of money you have to be really good. I hope he achieves both of those goals.
For a movie that treats the same themes (but chess instead of pianism) see "Searching for Bobby Fischer." That film stays grounded, perhaps because it is based on a true story.
Most people are captivated by genius no matter what the area of expertise, and genius in a young person is particularly fascinating. It seems that the main areas open to childhood prodigies are chess, music, and mathematics and it is not uncommon for a genius in one of these areas to have talents in the others. If you have ever attempted to excel in any area and encounter a person who is so above and beyond what is normally considered excellence, then your appreciation for such a person is heightened. Teo Gheorhiu commands such esteem. By far the high points of the movie for me were in seeing him play and marveling at his ability.
Vitus faces a decision that I assume most prodigies face, and that is how much of their lives should be devoted to developing their gift. To rise to the top, the devotion required would be pretty much all-consuming, or at least it would set them apart from a more normal childhood. Vitus faces such a decision, a decision accentuated by the pressures of his parents to capitalize on his gift and the mockery of his fellow students, since he excels in the classroom as well. It seems that the only person who simply wants Vitus to find his own way is his grandfather (Bruno Ganz in a fine performance), and Vitus establishes a close bond with him.
The internal conflict Vitus faces between conforming and pursuing his talent is set up nicely. In order to fit in, Vitus fakes a diminution of ability after an attempt to put on wings and jump from the second story of his house results in a concussion. It was not clear to me if Vitus purposely staged this event so that he could subsequently fake normalcy, or if he just recognized the possibilities the accident afforded him. But no matter how hard Vitus tries to be an average kid, like buying popular music CDs, his interest in classical music cannot be suppressed and he buys a CD of Bach's Goldberg Variations played by Alexey Botvinov that excites him to try his own playing on his grandfather's piano. Only his grandfather knows that Vitus' talent is still there and Vitus is faking its lack.
This is a great setup for a rich final payoff that is totally squandered in the final third where Vitus starts playing the stock market in order to save his father's job. Due to insider information he makes millions and winds up buying a NASA-sized flight simulator for his aviation loving grandfather. When I saw that thing in Vitus' grandfather's shop, I knew the movie had taken a regrettable wrong turn into fantasy land. For one thing Vitus would have been slapped with an insider trading lawsuit fairly quickly. As he continued to make more millions and bought out his dad's old company, I lost respect for this movie.
In addition to being a piano prodigy, Georghiu is a good actor with a winning personality. Based on the brief interview with him on the DVD extras it would appear that Georghiu has not been tortured by life decision conflicts. He says he wants to play a concert in the Royal Albert Hall by the time he is twenty and also remarks that in order to make a lot of money you have to be really good. I hope he achieves both of those goals.
For a movie that treats the same themes (but chess instead of pianism) see "Searching for Bobby Fischer." That film stays grounded, perhaps because it is based on a true story.