|
|
|
Written by Craig Outhier, MCT
|
|
Thursday, 05 July 2007 |
|
|
|
|
 ___
VITUS
Grade: C+
Starring: Teo Gheorghiu, Julika Jenkins, Urs Jucker, Bruno Ganz
Directed by: Fredi M. Murer, from a script by Christian Davi, Christof Neracher and Murer
Rating: PG for mild thematic elements and language
Running time: 2 hours, 3 minutes
___
One could make the argument that all gifted-child movies — "Searching for Bobby Fischer," for instance — are really about the keen regrets of adulthood: the missed experiences, the squandered potential, too much playing, too much working, etc.
For audiences, there's a certain redemptive satisfaction in watching a precocious on-screen surrogate confront and transcend these issues before his or her youth is permanently spent. So it goes in Fredi M. Murer's "Vitus," a sweet if nakedly wishful yarn about a Swiss piano prodigy who refuses to give up his wonder years without a fight.
Played by real-life musical marvel Teo Gheorghui, 12-year-old Vitus von Holzen seems destined for prepubescent, pushy-parent burnout. With a sky-high IQ and an ego to match, Vitus is loathed by his high school classmates and treated like a museum piece by his loving if awestruck parents, Helen (Julika Jenkins) and Leo (Urs Jucker).
Achievements aside, Vitus has never lived, and he knows it. When his grandfather and lone confidant (Bruno Ganz from "Downfall," significantly less Hitler-y in this role) asks him what he wants to be when he grows up, the boy's answer ("Somebody else") is sadly symptomatic of his joyless, solitary existence.
"Well, if you can't decide," the old man counsels, "you have to give something up that you love."
And thus begins a journey of the soul in which Vitus suffers a serious fall and conveniently loses 60 IQ points, his ability to pound out flawless Schumann and the stigma of being the smartest person in any room.
Are Vitus' now-average mental faculties legit? Are they part of a grand facade? One thing is for sure — Vitus will understand what it means to be an ordinary kid, and his parents will understand what it means to be ordinary parents.
Veteran director Murer ("Full Moon") — who co-wrote the screenplay with Christian Davi and Christof Neracher — extracts so much emotional lift from the scenes between Ganz and his young star that "Vitus" almost doesn't feel like the populist routine that it is.
If anything, Murer is too eager to exult in the von Holzen family's fortunes. A smidge of skepticism might have helped.
Still, one must sympathize with the von Holzens, particularly Helen, played by British-Swiss actress Jenkins. Blinded by her genetic jackpot, convinced that fostering her son's talent represents some kind of sacred trust, Helen slips into that trap of overprotective vicarious parenting that has felled so many well-meaning moms. When Vitus rips his "specialness" away from her, she has nothing, except a world of what-ifs. | Only registered users can write comments.
Please login or register. |
|
|  | "Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is Alchemy's first law of Equivalent Exchange. In those days, we really believed that to be the world's one, and only truth." | |
|  | We're not that bright, even though in our own little world, we're geniuses. We like 80s hair bands and one-hit wonders, but among us we have respectable tastes, too. Metallica, Iron Maiden, U2. Pursuit of all things trivial is a lifestyle, not just a game. We like some sports, love other sports, and can find something to say about anything. We watch TV and movies and we've read a book or two, even a few classics (Yes, Classic Comics count!)
We call it insight, you call it what you will. | |
|  | Felix Wong is an outdoor enthusiast living in Fort Collins. A mechanical engineer by day, he is especially passionate about bicycling, running, and backpacking. | |
|  | Hola Amigos! I'm Sandra. I like to believe that people are 70 percent good and 30 percent dumb. I'm stickin to that story. Reading this blog might make you want to be good, but probably just dumb. | |
|  | Donovan Henderson is editor of NEXTnc. | |
|  | Here at Nextnc we have some characters. Get a sneak peak behind the curtain and find out what amusing antics our staffers get themselves into on a weekly basis. | |
|  | What is up FoCo?
I am a recent college graduate of Minnesota State University Moorhead. After recieving my B.A. in English and Mass Communications this past August I moved down to Colorado.
I enjoy long walks on the beach, candlelight dinners, and heavy metal. My hobbies include reading and writing, music, movies, and getting drunk. Some of my favorite contemporary authors include Bret Easton Ellis, Chuck Palahniuk, and Kurt Vonnegut. My top movies are anything directed by Kubrick. I enjoy listening to anything that rocks.
Right now I am just trying to get to know Colorado and FoCo better. Mostly in order to find the best drink specials on each day that ends in Y. So if you know where I can get a cheap drunk on, let me know!
--Drew | |
|  | Life's little morsels of inspiration, observation and encouragement seen through the eyes of the Nextnc reporter.
| |
|  | Ms. Giles currently lives in Colorado where she stars in her own private reality show. She writes aphoristic accounts of her life, taken completely out of context, and embellished with characters and situations disguised to resemble something close to interesting. | |
|  | over and out | |
| | My name is Michelle Turley and I'm 28 years old. I live in Severance with my hubbie, Brandon. We have 2 dogs and a cat. We enjoy camping, four-wheeling, and just being in the mountains. I like to cook, clean (go figure), flea market, and play poker. I have so much to say about poker... | |
|
|
