Vitus (pronounced Vee-tuss) is a precocious piano player, but he has many other talents as well. There are a lot of films about musical prodigies, and while some feature excellent performances, most of them rest on the laurels of their protagonists. Here is a movie about an exceptional talent that complements that genius with inspired filmmaking.
We first meet the boy as a 6-year-old played by Fabrizio Borsani. His aptitude for the ivories is quickly discovered, and his parents—especially his overprotective mother—immediately begin heaping both praise and pressure upon the child. Before long, the only refuge he can find is in visits to his grandfather, who offers good advice but lets him be himself. It is a paradox in the story that his closest relatives just seem to smother him, while those with more perspective only seek to cultivate and encourage.
Accomplished with a simple cut, we segue forward to Vitus as a 12-year-old, now played by real-life piano prodigy Gheorghiu. His ability at the keyboard is impressive enough, but that he delivers an extraordinary performance allows us to believe almost anything that follows. This is important because it’s the story of a boy who has all the mathematical and scientific answers for adult life but lacks the emotional maturity to deal with it.
Feeling suffocated by the demands of his adult superiors, Vitus devises a scheme that he hopes will allow him to just be normal. Ironically, it is the very intellect he seeks to cover up that he must use to conceive such a plan.
A plot synopsis about a young musician and his pushy parents may not sound very exciting, but the second half of the film is filled with just as many surprises as the latest Bourne thriller. These revelations should be left for the viewer to discover; suffice to say that young Vitus will seek to solve his parents’ financial problems, court the older girl he falls in love with and forge a secret identity—all while dealing with his own convoluted existence.
Through its relationships and performances, sound and language (the script won the Swiss film award for best screenplay), Vitus is one of the most endearing and uplifting family films in recent memory. The dialogue is mostly in Swiss German, though it occasionally slips into English. If you don’t like reading subtitles yourself, you may be surprised at what your children can accomplish.
Vitus
****
Teo Gheorghiu, Julika Jenkins, Urs Jucker, Bruno Ganz
Directed by Fredi M. Murer
Rated PG
Opens Friday