Tribute to Geoffrey Rush 2022 / Shine / Australia 1996
The lives of extraordinary yet severely tested geniuses are fascinating in and of themselves, but director Scott Hicks managed to lift this tale of an unnaturally talented pianist to another level. Based on a true story with an almost fatalistic dimension, the film’s message is further underscored by its unforgettable performances, in particular, by Geoffrey Rush and Armin Mueller-Stahl.
Can one create sublime music without mental anguish? Audiences will recall the exceptionally intense dramatic tale of the concert pianist David Helfgott mainly thanks to the expressive but at its core restrained performance given by Geoffrey Rush, who played the main protagonist as a grown man, long after he became a famous pianist under the tutelage of his strict father (Armin Mueller-Stahl). A straightforward story about the line between genius and madness, the influences of one’s upbringing on mental health, and the notion that behind despotic behavior there may lie a pitifully fragile soul, Shine departed from typical Australian cinema in its turn from social realism towards compelling, unapologetic melodrama.
Viktor Palák
105 min / Color, DCP
Director Scott Hicks
/ Screenplay Jan Sardi podle námětu / based on the story by Scott Hicks
/ Dir. of Photography Geoffrey Simpson
/ Music David Hirschfelder
/ Editor Pip Karmel
/ Art Director Vicki Niehus, Tony Cronin
/ Producer Jane Scott
/ Production Australian Film Finance Corporation, Film Victoria, Momentum Films, The South Australian Film Corporation
/ Cast Geoffrey Rush, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Sonia Todd, Chris Haywood, Justin Braine
Scott Hicks (1953). Selected filmography: Snow Falling on Cedars (1999), Hearts in Atlantis (2001), Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts (2007), Fallen (2016).
Geoffrey Rush
Actor
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