How does the world (and a parent in particular) deal with a child prodigy? Though Swiss film "Vitus (Boku no Piano Concerto)" doesn't provide any definite answers, it parts the curtains on the mystery, letting us share a little in the experience of getting to know and learning to love an incredibly gifted child.
Veteran Swiss filmmaker Fredi M. Murer is well-known for making movies with children in the lead roles, and his stance toward his young charges has always been one of respect and professionalism, tinged with camaraderie. He seems to understand children and their world without feeling the need for fascination, exploitation or protectiveness. In his stories, children are allowed to keep the essence of themselves firmly intact, whether they're in a film about abduction ("Vollmond") or brother-sister incest ("Alpine Fire").
There's a strange serenity to it all that makes you wonder whether it's Murer or the Swiss temperament — if there's a storm brewing beneath all that calm, the director always has it well under control.
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