Humanities and Social Sciences Film Screening: Vitus

Fredi M. Murer's sweet-natured Swiss film tells the story of a child's dream and a parent's hopes, and what happens when these don't overlap. <i>Vitus</i> (rhymes with "meet us") is a Swiss piano prodigy and genius - played at age six by Fabrizio Borsani and at age 12 by Teo Gheorghiu (himself a piano prodigy) - who isn't sure he wants to be a genius. Pressured by his mother (Julika Jenkins) to practice for hours a day, and often neglected by his workaholic father (Urs Jucker), the boy finds emotional refuge with his grandpa (the great Bruno Ganz). As Vitus navigates his first crush and the question of whether being "normal" is the same as being happy, director/cowriter Fredi M. Murer provides some whimsically absurd twists in this gentle observation of the travails of growing up.