Vitus (B+)
for an April 2007 Philadelphia Weekly
Indie films that establish this level of intimacy usually do so simply to set up some terrible disaster for the character who least deserves it. Art house theaters seem to have this written into their charters. The genius of Vitus (much more on this in a bit) however, is in how the film manages to balance the threat of catastrophe with just enough payoff to disguise its feel-good, Disney-style storyline, which offers no shortage of life lessons or rewards for characters bold enough to chase their dreams.
Vitus von Holzen is a piano prodigy—better yet, a musical wunderkind—in German Switzerland who also happens to be a mathematical wizard with an I.Q. of 180 and a penchant for flying airplanes. In the opening sequence, the film’s 12-year-old namesake hops an airstrip fence, walks casually past a mechanic to a small plane, unlocks it, and flashing a gleeful thumbs-up at the apoplectic mechanic, fires it up and takes flight.
Plenty of films use the flying metaphor, and plenty more choose a child with exceptional gifts as protagonist, but rarely does one of these films manage to execute its premise well enough to outmaneuver modern cynicism as well. When Vitus flies, one likely imagines the real pilot flying shotgun. When Vitus claims to have solved the stock market, one simply thinks of it as a device manifested in the script. But when the 6- and 12-year-old actors who play Vitus sit down at the piano, something truly incredible happens. Making all of this work without a hint of saccharine or schmaltz is no small feat in an age where the incredible is most often added in post-production.
Around these images of virtuosity, Vitus draws a rich emotional rendering of a young family faced with the pressure of fulfilling the young boy’s aptitudes. These familial relationships remain wonderfully imperfect and complex throughout the film, in equal parts loving, prideful and anxious. Through these colorfully composed characters, Vitus earns from its audience a willing suspension of disbelief for the convenient turns of fate that befall the von Holzen family.