Vitus

At age six, the precocious Vitus (Teo Gheorghiu) has a Mensa-grade IQ and plays piano like a master. His proud parents (Julika Jenkins, Urs Jucker) want the boy to become a concert pianist and spend years pushing him in that direction. But Vitus has other ambitions that only his loving grandfather (Bruno Ganz) seems to appreciate. This beautiful Swiss drama, a film festival favorite, perfectly captures the longing of its gifted but frustrated subject, who would much rather be a normal young boy than a virtuoso. Gheorghiu is achingly vulnerable as Vitus and delivers a performance of remarkable sensitivity for so young an actor, while Ganz (Wings of Desire) is characteristically strong as the lad's kindly, sympathetic grandfather. A gentle but also moving foreign film, Vitus is recommended. (E. Hulse)