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.

ccthemovieman-1 How many movies have you watched that were made in Switzerland? Well, this one was and seems to be favorably received. The user comments here are almost all filled with plaudits for the film. I agree, with a few reservations.Although I enjoyed the movie and was pretty entertained by it, I thought it got a little carried away in the last 40 minutes or so and all credibility went flying out the window. First, the good news: all the characters were interesting and the story had a unique twist to it, one that I doubt anyone could see coming. I won't say what it is, but just don't expect the normal "child prodigy" story.Many scenes in the final third of the movie, I thought, got too unrealistic. A 12-year-old boy gone for hours - at an expensive condo he bought unknown to his parents, at expensive restaurants, pulling all of kinds of business deals with background checks, climbing up into an airplane with nobody seeing him? - on and on. There are just too many scenes that have huge holes in them like, well, Swiss cheese. In addition, the kid is obnoxious many times and the parents unrealistic. I felt more than a touch of elitism thrown into this story.I think the oddest part of the film was the mother speaking English about every fifth sentence. What's up with that? Still, I think many people will enjoy this movie because the story, even with the holes, is still entertaining enough to sit through, which is more than you can say for a lot of two-hour films.

QoS007 Being a musician myself, I hold this movie in such high regard. Music is about what you make of it, not what others want you to make out of it. Vitus is a wonderful film that is linear, magical, and groundbreaking in the musical genre. The film achieves near perfection with a fantastic score and wonderful cinematography. The direction of the Swiss landscape is visually stunning and gorgeous, which make the film hard to look away from. The themes in Vitus such as realism, determination, youth, and wonderment launch the replay value off the charts and make it the perfect feel-good movie. Adding to it's brilliance is the script, which is one of the finest I have ever witnessed. Ultimately, Vitus possesses a quality that most American music films lack which make it a film worth owning, rather than simply renting or borrowing.Vitus is the unsung hero of musical films. He is brought up to constantly improve upon his talent as a piano player until one day, when he decides on his own to take the piano at his own pace. His grandfather proves to be a wonderful source of inspiration and guides Vitus when it comes to understanding the ways of the world.

Ali Afroozeh I have seen this beautiful movie at our German language institute last week. The spoken language in this film is Swiss German and I could understand just a little from it. Swiss Dialect sounds very different from standard German. It was my first film experience from Switzerland and fortunately it was very good and satisfying. I have seen many German films (from Germany or Austria) but this film was the first one which made me laugh! It was very funny and happy specially the part in which Vitus said to his teacher about James Watt. Against most German films which have a cold and unpleasant atmosphere (for example: Funny Games, The Hotel or The thin drum) this film ended happily.The story is pretty simple and straightforward. No violence, no nude scene, no drug use. Everything seems to be in its natural form.The role playing was very good. Specially Bruno Ganz. I have seen three films from him: Downfall, Wings of desire and Nusferato: Phantom of Night". In Downfall he played the role of Hitler, In Wings of desire he was an angel wandering in streets of Berlin and listening to different people's thoughts, In Phantom of night he played the role of a young man who is somehow unemotional and cold and ultimately causes Cont Dracula come to town. I love all of these plays. and yet I have seen a totally different playing role from Bruno Ganz in Vitus: A Grandpapa who loves his grandson and are best friends. The relationship between Vitus and Grandfather is very interesting.I recommend this film to everyone who enjoys watching a different, 2 hours long and slow but happy and funny film.My rating is 8/10.