Vitus (2006)

Lack of good storyline.

it is the rare 'crazy' movie that actually has something to say.

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

Just saw this movie tonight at the European Movie Week. While I am not a movie freak like my darling wife, it is simply the best movie I have seen in perhaps 10 years! Come on! I can't believe I am actually online looking for how to buy this movie. I have NEVER been bothered before to even look at the cast in a movie, not to talk of looking a movie up online. With zero violence or nudity, I find the simple manner of presentation of the plot highly intellectual. I hope to get it on DVD and perhaps, distribute. It has definitely changed my perception of European movies. My son is musically talented and this movie has positively impacted on my thinking about raising him.

It is an open secret that Swiss German movies are almost unknown outside of Europe and that they seldom or never win Oscars. Well understood, I speak here about movies in Swiss German language. Swiss German is by most Americans not even recognized as German; for Americans who have traveled to Europe, it sounds like Austrian, which is does not at all, in reality. Therefore, it does not astonish either, that most Americans do not know that there was a time when Swiss German movies were en vogue, this was in the 50ies and in the early 60ies. Even before, in the 30ies and 40ies, there was a time when it looked like Swiss German movies would reach international standards in the near future.But unfortunately, except some highlights like "Bäckerei Zürrer", "Hinter den sieben Gleisen" or "Dällebach Kari" by Kurt Früh, "Ueli der Knecht" and "Ueli der Pächter" by Franz Schnyder (which are available in Japan, but not in the US), "Die plötzliche Einsamkeit des Konrad Steiner" by Kurt Gloor (all available in region-bound, non-subtitled dvds for horribly high prices in Switzerland), Swiss movies are not reaching the standards of other European states. And now comes Vitus which has been nominated for Oscar, from a film director who has made not much more than a handful of feature-length movies. How does this movie fit into the Swiss film tradition? For everybody who knows the movies that I have mentioned above, the structure of "Vitus" is not unknown: it is a movie that belongs to the fairytale-genre introduced by Kurt Früh fifty and more years ago. Vitus, the "wunderkind" who plays most difficult sonatas before he is 10 years old, is ready to graduate from high school with 12 and earns with his own company millions and millions of Swiss Franks by stock-exchange - this is not so different from the miraculous fate of the poor and miserably living family Caduff to whom the wizard comes in the person of the realty-owner Mr. Frehner who gives them for free a luxury-apartment on the Nob Hill of Zurich and turns them from gypsies to winners of the post-war-time in "Es Dach überem Chopf". However, there is a huge difference between "Vitus" and the old Kurt Früh-movies: the ladder are social-critique, the Vitus is not, but stays on the surface. Instead, we learn about the desolate status of today's Swiss German which is mixed up with American lumps. Above all, "Vitus" simply lacks its anchoring in today's Swiss society - as Kurt Früh's movies were strongly anchored in the Zurich society of the 50ies and 60ies. Although we see Vitus' father and, shortly, his mother, at work, the family stays isolated from the rest of Zurich's society. For example, we do not even see any neighbors in or around the house in Wipkingen, where the family von Holzen lives. All the encounters of Vitus and his family stand under the appearances of wonders that will happen, not under actual social interplay. The movie, therefore, is a nice and entertaining story about a fictive little boy, but not more and settles, compared to Kurt Früh's movies, on a much deeper level than it had been reached in Swiss film culture already at the end of the fifties.

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.

Set in Switzerland, Vitus is a young boy who shows very early musical promise at the piano. His father is an inventor of a new line of hearing aids, and he hopes to one day become the CEO of his company. Both his father and his mother expect him to become a great pianist, and they frown upon his doing such things as carpentry with grandpa because he might hurt his hands.He also is very bright, with an IQ almost too high to measure. School bores him, but as he gets put into higher grades with older students, they make fun of him. 'Vitus' becomes 'Shitus.' Vitus and grandpa loved planes and flying. They even made a contraption that Vitus wore around his waist, looking like wings. One evening, when it was raining, Vitus went out his second floor balcony and ended up in a crumpled heap on the ground. He seemed OK afterwards, but tests showed his IQ to be closer to normal at 120, and his piano playing became very rudimentary.In most of the movie Teo Gheorghiu, who actually is a young, award-winning pianist, played Vitus von Holzen at age 12. His acting is very effective. Overall a fine and charming movie.SPOILERS. Vitus did not actually fall that night, and he was not actually injured, but he had to pretend to become 'normal' so that he could get everyone off his back. His father was mistreated at work by the son of the CEO who had died, and dad was actually fired. But the genius that Vitas was, he took grandfather's savings and with permission created a company 'Mr Wolf Holdings' and playing the expected market swings make millions for gramps, who bought a flight simulator and a plane. Vitus even arranged to have dad's old company purchased when stock went down, and his dad became the CEO.