Intense, gripping, stylish and poignant

Boring

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

This is a marvelous bio-pic of a man who suffers throughout life for his art. David Helfgott, an Australian, is a wunderkind pianist who is abused and betrayed by his father, and robbed of his childhood. It is sort of the classic smothering that takes place when a sensitive artist loses his soul for a time. Eventually, Helfgott gets to perform but finds himself immersed in schizophrenia and mental illness for years. The world lost him for a time. But there's more to the story. Geoffrey Rush, whom I had never heard of at the time, is brilliant as the damaged artist. He expresses the deep depression of the character and his genius. The film is able to show the darkness of the soul through its cinematography. The film is inspiring but only because of its portrayal of pain

David Helfgott (Geoffrey Rush) can't stop talking and unable to relate normally. He surprises everybody by being a great pianist. As a child, he struggles under his domineering father Peter (Armin Mueller-Stahl). He's a child prodigy. His father pushes him to the breaking point by insisting on playing the difficult Rachmaninoff. As a young man (Noah Taylor), he gains some success and eventually escapes from his abusive father to go to school in London. He breaks down and is institutionalized.The adult Helfgott is fascinating with a terrific performance from Geoffrey Rush. His reveal to his acquaintances is a great scene. However half of the movie doesn't have Rush. It's about the younger Helfgott and the best part is his crazy father. It's a disturbing performance from Armin Mueller-Stahl. Noah Taylor also does a nice job.

Viewed at RIGA, Arsenals Forum IFF, September 20-28, 1998. SHINE (1996) written and directed by Scott Hicks stars Geoffrey Rush as an emotionally disturbed virtuoso pianist in Australia, freaked out by the impossible demands of a father who constantly abuses him with the memory of his own disturbed childhood in Europe and the loss of family in the concentration camps. The cruel father of the child prodigy pianist, passing on his genocide complex to the next generation, is heavyweight German actor, Armin Meuller-Stahl (b. 1930) who is in everything these days, and it ends with a rousing piano rendition of Rimsky-Korsakov's "The Flight of the Bumblebee" when the hero, after a long stint in an institution, recovers his senses to some extent ... The true story of David Helfgott (may God help him) -- very absorbing with tour-de-force performance by Mr. Rush. After this he'll be in everything! (And he was).Shine was one of the big films of the year and earned Rush the Academy award for for Best Actor plus a nomination for Best Actor in a Supporting role for Mueller-Stall. Also nominated for Best Picture and best Original Screenplay. It included the last screen appearance at age 82 of British born actress Googie Withers who was a big star way back in the thirties (for example, in Hitchcock's "The Lady Vanishes"). Another elder British giant, John Gielgud, had a cameo at age 94! -- and passed away in 2000. Aussie director Scott Hicks, not very well known outside of Australia, also made "Snow falling on Cedars", a 1999 drama with Ethan Hawke defending a wrongly accused Japanese American in a murder case during the wave of anti-Japanese prejudice in America following Pearl Harbor.

Amazing movie. Go watch it if you haven't yet. Ugandian born (now Australian) Scott Hicks made this near masterpiece movie and actually left me willing to explore more of his works. Shine is about David Helfgott (Alex Rafalowicz, Noah Taylor and Geoffrey Rush). David sees since very young his life driven towards the fields of the piano. His father, visibly victimised by his austere father (Alex Rafalowicz), demands perfection from him and also extreme loyalty to him. His father sacrifices a lot of his potential in order to fulfil his desires and wills, including not allowing David to go study in the States. A few years later he receives a scholarship from the Royal College of Music in London, an opportunity which is father obviously declined. But David was already older enough and left home, what shocked his father, who decided to clear David from his family, believing his acts were a complete betrayal. Anyway, in London, David practises like an animal and reaches the complete success, winning a competition, when ha has a mental breakdown on stage. Years pass and he is forgotten, until his talent is rediscovered, by accident. Very powerful movie. Got me by surprise because I didn't knew, even during the movie that his mental illness, allied with his great talent, who be pu together so brilliantly. Geoffrey Rush received one of the most deserved Oscars the Academy has ever given. He had in my opinion what might just be his best performance of his whole career. Although works well to dramatize David's youth, it seems to me that his father is too much exaggerated, as his family say he was nothing like shown in the family. The same happens with David's quality in the piano after the breakdown, that is supposed to be a somehow worse that the movie implies. That clearly separates this movie from total perfection. Nevertheless, a real delight to both music lovers and fanciers of the devilries of the mental illness. 9/10