Laikals The greatest movie ever made..!

Curapedi I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Micah Lloyd Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

Yash Wade Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

Syl Virus is a Swiss boy who is a piano prodigy and genius. All Vitus wants is to be normal. His parents have high expectations when they learn of their son's genius. His parents put enormous pressures on him to succeed as a piano prodigy and a genius student attending college at 12 years old. When an accident happens, Vitus is no longer a genius but an average healthy normal 12year old boy who enjoys spending time with his grandfather. That's what we're supposed to think but Vitus wants to be like other 12 year olds. Vitus is a rare film where everybody can relate to these characters especially the family dynamics. I don't know where the setting in Switzerland whether Geneva, Zurich, or Bern. This is probably my first Swiss film. I don't recall any others.

Roland E. Zwick The life of a child prodigy is never an easy one, and six-year-old Vitus von Holzen is quite the child prodigy. With an I.Q. so off-the-charts it's been classified as "incalculable," Vitus is already such an accomplished pianist that he would give Mozart and Beethoven a run for their money in the musical genius sweepstakes. Vitus' parents are justifiably proud of their son and understandably intent on affording him every opportunity possible for him to fulfill his rare, God-given potential. But how is a boy supposed to have a "normal childhood" when he's eons ahead of his peers in intelligence and talent and when even his own teachers are intimidated by his knowledge? Small wonder he's an arrogant, precocious little brat long before he's reached puberty (he's already planning on attending college at age 13). Yet, at what point does a boy finally rebel against his "specialness" and seek the life of a "normal" child? Well, in a shocking turn of events, Vitus comes up with a way of doing just that."Vitus" is a superb German film that vividly captures the stress and strain of having an adult brain essentially trapped inside a child's psyche. But the movie also brings into focus the nonstop struggle the parents go through as they attempt to find a balance between nurturing and cultivating the child's talents, on the one hand, and not making a psychological wreck of him on the other. And how much of their obsession with the child's gift really just comes down to the glory he reflects back on them as parents? And whose dreams are they really trying to fulfill through his success anyway, his or their own?Brilliantly written by Peter Luisi, Lukas B. Suter and Fredi M. Murer, and solidly directed by Murer, "Vitus" takes us into a world we don't often visit in the movies - that of the mysteries of the intellect - and does so with ingenious plotting, complex characterizations and outstanding performances by a wonderful cast. Julika Jenkins and Urs Jucker are excellent as the parents who certainly mean well but who don't always act in the best interest of their child, while Bruno Gans provides a strong emotional focal point as the loving grandfather who is the one person in Vitus' life who provides him with a safe place where he can live life without pressure and just be a normal kid. The two young actors who play Vitus - Fabrizio Borsani at six and Teo Gheorghiu at twelve - don't hit a single false note in their portrayals of a character who is half grownup and half temperamental child.Nobody is a hero or a villain in this film; they're just well-intentioned individuals trying to work their way through an unusual and challenging situation without making a total mess of everything in the process.The script does lose its way a bit in the second half, wandering too far into wish-fulfillment fantasy and the arcane muddle of big business deal-making and stock portfolios for its own good, but that's a small enough flaw in a movie that otherwise provides an abundance of inarguable virtues.

jotix100 Many ambitious parents that detect talent in their children, tend to subject them to lives that rob the kids of a childhood. That seems to be the case with Leo and Helen Von Holzen, the parents of the gifted Vitus. The boy shows, at an early stage, his aptitude for the piano. In making Vitus study and prepare for a career in music, the elder Von Holzens sacrifice his normal life as they make the young child into studying constantly in order to fulfill their own expectations for the child.One place Vitus feels at home is with his paternal grandfather, a crusty old man with a meager income, but with a lot of love to offer the boy. Vitus own reward is the interest he takes in his teen-aged baby sitter, but when the parents see in horror the surveying tape they have installed at home, they are horrified for watching their son being just a kid having fun.When we meet Vitus later on, he decides to rebel by jumping off the balcony of his parents' apartment and survives miraculously. He begins by assuming a new personality that is just the opposite of his old self. Thus, he enrolls in a regular school, where he is bored stiff, but at least, he is surrounded by regular kids.Vitus father's company is not doing well, and Leo has a chance of losing his job. Vitus, who of course, is just as talented and intelligent as before, devices a plan to rescue his grandfather from almost poverty, as well as his own father.Fredi Murer, the director of the film, achieves a sure hit with this film that will charm audiences that look for a good and entertaining time in watching an uplifting film. Mr. Murer was lucky in securing the help of Fabrizio Borzani and Teo Gheorgiu, two young piano prodigies that are impressive as they play real music in the film.The best thing, though, is Bruno Ganz, the great German actor who is on hand to impress us with his own take on the grandfather. Mr. Ganz does an incredible job as the rumpled older man who is totally amazed by the innate intelligence of his grandson. Urs Jucker and Julika Jenkins appear as the ambitious parents who finally come to terms with their amazing son."Vitus" is recommended for audiences of all ages. The background music is glorious, especially the last sequence where Vitus plays a concert in front of a live audience with a full orchestra.

woytan it is said that 6 year old Vitus actually plays... Well - he does not in the dancing scene with the "babyseatter". It is actually embarrassing to watch the poor kind playing clown as told by the director. There are many more things which no director yet mastered to show properly.. it is to do with the "feel" of timing. That is obvious when Vitus finds out the padlock (at air port) locked... But hey....the director must make sure that the kid pulls this padlock few times with the camera closed up on the padlock so the "slowest" from the audience actually "gets it" that the the padlock is locked. Minus 15 points for the director on this. The kid plays piano "life" and this can not be denied.. Something not too often offered to watch in movies. Here is my 7 points justification. But - as a 12 years old - he tackles very difficult piece by Franz List only to practice (much later in the movie) a very basic,the very beginners drill by Carl Cherny...Worse of all... Mother claims not to be a pianist but she is giving a lesson to already then well fledged pianist. That is something i could not stop laughing at. Vitus at 6 years old is pathetic as he should be expected to be at that age. However the 12 years old Vitus does a good job. I did not see too clearly that he "wants to be normal" any other way than by his own brief comment about it:-). Although nothing new in the movie from what had already been shown in thousands of other movies - this movie is not a markedly "oversweetened" work and the true play of a child is something very refreshing to watch after all those "circus clown like" kids from Hollywood in most other movies about "genious" kids. To sum up: First part of Vitus at 6 is way below any value. Second part of Vitus 12 repairs the damage to the point that the movie is well worth watching...(once).