Though the venues are concert halls rather than vaudeville houses, as a stage mother even Gypsy’s Mama Rose pales beside Anat (Naama Preis). In this remarkable first feature from writer-director Itay Tal, Anat is the daughter ofArieh (Ze’ev Shimshoni), a virtuoso Israeli pianist and composer, and though she struggles to meet his exacting standards at the keyboard (she is first seen giving a recital while pregnant, and refusing to stop even when her water breaks), his approval has always eluded her. Her hope is that her child will prove the prodigy she never was, but it seems cruelly dashed when the doctors inform her that the newborn boy is deaf.
Unable to accept the situation, she switches her infant with another and raises the stolen child with the sole goal of ensuring that he will be a great musician, causing friction with her more accommodating husband (Ron Bitterman), who is inclined to give the boy (played at five by Itay Zipor and at twelve by Andy Levi) some free time for video games or school trips.
Anat’s obsession bears fruit: Idan excels as a pianist—when Arieh gives his grandson one of his own youthful compositions to sight-read after a family dinner, the boy not only plays it fluently but adds some improvements. Arieh is impressed, but also has misgivings—and perhaps a touch of jealously—that will flower when Anat puts Idan forward as a candidate for admission to the elite conservatory her father heads and will take extreme measures to secure his acceptance, including going to bed with a renowned pianist/composer (Shimon Mimran) to secure his imprimatur. That, of course, does not sit well with her husband, nor do her plans take account of the fact that Idan, in spite of his talent, might not share her single-mindedness. As things come to a head, moreover, Anat is reminded of her actual biological son and driven to investigate what happened to him, leading her to seek the aid of a most unlikely comforter.
God of the Piano is an extraordinary portrait of a woman who goes to horrifying lengths trying to live her own dreams vicariously through her child. It is blessed with a superbly controlled performance by Preis and spare, almost clinical direction that plays what might have become overheated melodrama with emotional coolness. The only flaw is that the supposedly wonderful new piano pieces periodically showcased are, as is often the case in such stories, not terribly impressive. Still, this is an exceptional debut by a most promising filmmaker.
The DVD offers an excellent bonus in The Audition (22 min., in German) by Guy Lichtenstein, about a cellist (Cécile Grüebler) who finds herself playing in a string quartet at the wedding reception of her onetime boyfriend. Since they broke up over her devotion to music, their accidental meeting compels her to come to terms with her life decisions. Highly recommended.