A young genius becomes a piano prodigy, but he rebels against his parents’ pressure on him by faking a head injury and pretending to now be normal, though ultimately he comes to terms with his gifts.

CRITIQUE

Vitus was Switzerland’s official entry for the 2006 Academy Awards, and as a tale of a young piano prodigy it has a lot of things to like about it.  Still, overall too often this uneven tale feels like an opportunity missed; the central storyline is uneven, some of the elements are heavy-handed, and the tale never flows like it really should.  The result is interesting enough to be worth consideration for viewing, but one comes away wishing that it all clicked much better.

For most of the first half, this is the fairly straightforward tale of young genius Vitus, who at 6 already has an IQ off the charts and a remarkable ability at playing piano.  An early theme here is the question of how youngsters like this should be handled, and whether they (and their parents) have a responsibility to reach their potential, as well as the awkwardness of treating a young child as an adult in some ways and not in others.

Still, Vitus just never seems fully-realized here.  Too often early on he is just rather bratty, and when the tale ages him to 12, his being an outsider is due as much to his own behavior as it is to his genius status.  Though it’s easy to sympathize with Vitus’ dream of leading the life of a normal kid, the script requires him to unconvincingly alienate himself from his teachers and schoolmates by being something of an arrogant jerk, without answering the question of whether or not Vitus couldn’t have had a semblance of a normal life simply by acting like a friendly, normal kid who just happens to be really smart.

The big twist here comes when Vitus apparently suffers a bit of brain damage in a fall, enough to make him “normal”, though it is fairly quickly revealed that he is actually faking this to his parents.  But Vitus’ pursuit of a normal life doesn’t last long, and though his second-half use of his genius to help his family’s economic fortunes has some satisfying moments, at the same time it feels like a different movie, while Vitus’ character arc is always a bit muddy.

There are some things that work well here, particularly Vitus’ relationship with his grandfather (played nicely by Bruno Ganz).  The result is a mixed bag; often this makes some good points in dramatic, involving fashion, but again one comes away wishing that overall it hung together better.  Still, this is solid enough of its type to pluck off the video store shelves if one is in the mood.

THE VIDEO

Vitus is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen.  The picture is sharp throughout.

THE AUDIO

Vitus is presented in German (Swiss) 5.1 Dolby Digital, with subtitles available in English, French and Spanish.  Dialogue, music and sound effects come through clear.

THE EXTRAS

There is a Commentary by director Fredi M. Murer and producer Christof Neracher.  English obviously isn’t Murer’s first language, but he manages to talk about the film and filmmaking in understandable, often-interesting fashion.

There is a 54-minute Making Of featurette on the film that is very solid of its type, with a lot of behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with cast and crew.

There is a copy of the Screen Test of young actor Teo Georgini (who plays Vitus at 12), in which he demonstrates the impressive piano-playing ability that obviously helped get him the job.

There is an 8-minute Interview with actor Bruno Ganz, in which he talks about his acting process.

There are 9 minutes of okay Deleted Scenes, which were obviously just cut for time.

FINAL THOUGHT

Some interesting themes and ideas; those in the mood for something like this might find it an okay rental.