Shine
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Movie Reviews of Shine
Movie Review: Radiant Return from the Abyss
Summary: 5 Stars
"It is paradise to perform in front of an audience...I feel at one with the audience and I have an image in my thoughts which inspires me. I think of the beauty of the music and imagination it generates." ~David Helfgott
Comic and profound, Shine reaches into the heart of what every meaningful movie seems to embody. The underlying currents are dark and cold, but the heights reach for a much more breezy mood and playful appeal. As a child prodigy struggles to live his life and please his father, he finds ways to survive even when his mind is drenched in obsessions and his life is a series of creative adventures.
As if he can't contain the creativity it jumps from him in moments of inspired greatness. The way this story is woven together on screen is especially entertaining and you can't help but cry, laugh and be pleasantly surprised by the moments of inappropriate yet hilarious behavior. When David Helfgott speaks it is fast and furiously with his mind making connections in a very intriguing fashion.
One of the brilliant moments is when Sir John Gielgud is shouting: "You have to tame the piano..." David Helfgott does more than tame the piano, he gives the piano a heart and the way he plays can be exciting, tense, relaxing, dreamy, intense, heart-sigh beautiful or even soul stirring and profound. You live in anticipation as classical music springs to life from his fingers. When he moves to London to study at the Royal College of music, he suffers more from his illness and seems to be at a breaking point from which he won't recover.
This story of an Australian Pianist with an almost bipolar lifestyle shows the intricacies of survival within an illness. At times, the places he lives are left in shambles as he follows one joy to the next. Shine has profound movies of brilliance, beautiful heartfelt scenes and a dark side that creates a struggle until the moment of redemption in the rapturous standing ovation. Shine had my full attention and took me on a wild emotional ride into the eccentric David Helfgott's world of joyful child-like expression.
Artistic license seems to run freely through this movie and the director may indulge in docudrama in places. In the end, you may just want to set aside the controversy and enjoy this for the beauty and connection. In the end, it is love that saves us all from ourselves and makes life a worthwhile adventure. Shine succeeds on so many levels, where so many other movies fail. My heart was completely captured and I feel that if all people care about is how his father was portrayed, they sadly missed the entire point of the story.
~The Rebecca Review
Movie Review: A tragic story well told
Summary: 5 Stars
What a sad story! A true story about an Austrialian Pianist David Helfgott with refinements. How he overcome his mental breakdowns to perform on stage again. A pianist struggled to regain self-believe and the courage to play again.Being a child prodigy, David Helfgott was very promising, but been terrorised by a controlling and stubborn father. He lived in fear but yearned to achieve and excel in his piano playing. He tried to run away to pursue his dream but over doing and his lack of self determination and unstable mind drove him to a mental break down (they proclaimed that but I believed if he had treatment earlier...). He was sent to mental institution and stayed there for several years...forcing him to give up his dream but with twist of fate and meeting a soul mate changed his life again... He regained his playing ability and eventually gave his concert performance and now live happily with his love,performing regularly and hopefully fear no more.... Superb performance from Geoffrey Rush. He completely convinced me that he is David Helfgott. He shines in every department, putting in all his heart and soul to this role and totally deserved his Oscar. Truly remarkable and touching.
The movie also have great sound tracks, solid classical piano performances from Rush and most of all it made me cried...... I'd read the biography written by Gillian and I must said the movie was very closed attempt to the truth...and Scott Hicks did took nearly 10 years to write it with David's aid and permission.
All in all a great contribution to both film and classical music industries.
Movie Review: Bravo!
Summary: 5 Stars
Shine is about dreams, love, failure and success. Young David Helfgott wants to go abroad to study piano and take advantage of a grant he's offered against his father's wishes. The emotional stress ends up crippling his dreams of becoming a famous pianist and spending a good part of his life in a mental institution. This movie is filled with magical scenes with subtle messages like the one where the David's father goes to see him after many years and talks very casually and almost apologetic about trivial things and then leaves as we see him walk down the wet dark streets below from David's point of view. The father's message: "I'm sorry son" and all the images-the wet streets(=tears), the fact that is nighttime (shades of blue- blue means trust, frienship) is all to symbolize the sadness and the love that David's father feels inside but is unable to express verbally to his son. It's a powerfull scene and althought there are no tears on screen the viewer of this movie will provide his own. Shine is great film that takes a different path and stays away from the Holywood formula. Geoffry Rush plays Helfgott as an adult and you should see Rush's work in "Quills" playing opposite Joaquim Phoenix who's one the besy up and coming actors today, and who plays Comodus in the Academy award winning movie "Gladiator".Movie Review: Inspiring!
Summary: 5 Stars
A beautifully rendered film about artistry, madness and love. This film has fabulous performances and a really beautiful plotline. "Shine" was the first film that introduced the great actor Geoffrey Rush to a wide audience. He brilliantly portrayed the genius pianist, David Helfgott after his mental breakdown. Noah Taylor, a talented young actor played Helfgott as a young man who was in love with his art but was tormented by doubts and abuse. The incredible work of Armin Mueller-Stahl as David's abusive but strangely loving father really stands out here. The whole plot and feel of the film reminded me of Pnk Floyd's "The Wall" as it illustrated how the sensitivity of a vulnerable person and the cruelties of the world can come together to create a madness born of necessity. The song "Mother", from that album captures what I mean but in the case of "Shine" you would sing,
"Hush now baby, baby, don't you cry
Papa's gonna make all of your nightmares come true
Papa's gonna put all of his fears into you
Papa's gonna keep you right here under his wing
He won't let you fly, but he might let you sing
Papa's will keep Baby cozy and warm
Oooo Babe
Oooo Babe
Ooo Babe, of course Papa's gonna help build the wall."
Movie Review: Redemption and Music
Summary: 5 Stars
This is one of the most beautiful films I have ever seen. I bought this DVD as a gift, as I have seen this film five times already in three different languages. I was astounded at how the film was at once simple yet moving and realistic withouyt resorting to any sappiness. as someone who has struggled to become a good pianist (though hardly a virtuoso), I understood the emotion and desire that can overcome you as you decide to tackle a difficult piece. Learning it is akin to a great triumph. I think the film is strongest during the sequence that depicts Helfgott's study at the Royal Conservatory as he learns the Rachmaninov concerto no. 3. The shots of the hands climbing the keyboard, the emphasis on the choirds of the main cadenza and the obvious satisfaction shown by the actor were very moving. I was on the edge of my seat. I think, howver, the scene that truly shows what music can mean is one of the final ones as helfgott is jumping on a net listening to a headset playing a Vivaldi cantata. He's completely lost in the music and an unbound happiness. As I told the girl that accompanied me to my first viewing of the film, that's what music means to me.