IMDb user comments for
Shine (1996)

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78 comments in total

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19 out of 24 people found the following comment useful :-
Wonderful little story that is interesting for the majority but heartbreaking at times, 28 January 2004
Author: bob the moo from Birmingham, UK

David is a stuttering, rambling man having suffer a complete breakdown as a young man. However when he was a child his skills on the piano were unmatched. Driven by his father, opportunities open up in front of him to go abroad to learn, but his father denies him the chance. He leaves for London where he drives himself to the point of exhaustion before coming back home to find his father has disowned him.

It took me years to finally watch this film. I was still in Northern Ireland when it came out in the cinema and such films were not permitted to cross our borders, lest they keep the latest action movies from our 1 or 2 screen cinemas! So away from the hype and the Oscar hoopla I sat to watch this film and found myself easily taken in by it. The story is the true story of David Helfgott who was a boy genius before his breakdown. The film starts with him as an adult then jumps back to see him as a child. This approach works well to allow us to see the `end result' as it were, before we see what would be considered the causation factors. These factors are a little heart breaking to watch but they are very well delivered. As an adult, David is comic, warming and tragic. The pain in his life is brought out very well.

A great deal of the praise for this must lie with the wonderful cast. Rush got his Oscar of course and I'll leave it to the users on the message boards to argue over whether or not you can be the lead actor with screen time of less than half the film! He is great, walking a difficult line with a `disabled' character but managing not to just make it a caricature at any point. David as a child is very well played by Rafalowicz and does more of the development work than Rush and hence gets less credit than he deserves for making us care for the adult David. Mueller-Stahl is as good as he can be and gives a great performance, the only downside being that he doesn't age a single day between the adult and child sections of the story - surely some makeup could have been used?

Overall this is a very enjoyable human story that is driven by several really strong performances in key roles. The story keeps it's tone light but yet still manages to be dramatic and, in some scenes far too touching to avoid being slightly moved. The music is beautiful when it is called on to be and dramatic at other times - the director does very well to make the intense music translate into intense scenes in the film. Overall a simple story of a man but one that is interesting and a lot more moving that I expected it to be.

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17 out of 22 people found the following comment useful :-
What a difference a 2nd viewing makes, 17 August 2001
Author: XRANDY from Korea

I don't now why but when I first viewed this a few years back I did not care for it, but after watching it again I was very impressed. Maybe because I have grown more of an appreciation for classical music in that timeframe. I really don't understand how I could have missed the outstanding portrayal of the nuturing/stultifying father-son relationship, or the moving way that David can only express himself via the piano (notice how he speaks in virtually only apothems). This is a very great film.

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23 out of 34 people found the following comment useful :-
A Beautiful Mind, 22 April 2003
Author: george.schmidt (george.schmidt@hbo.com) from fairview, nj

SHINE (1996) **** Geoffrey Rush, Noah Taylor, Alex Rafalowicz, Armin Mueller Stahl, Lynn Redgrave, Sir John Gielgud, Googie Withers. Excellent Oscar nominated bio pic about acclaimed Australian pianist virtuoso David Helfgott (played equally brilliant by Rush {deservingly winning the Oscar as Best Actor} as an adult, Taylor as a young man and Rafalowicz as the child prodigy) who suffered mental anguish thru his art largely due to his overbearing father (Mueller Stahl, Best Supporting Actor nominee, in a demanding yet effective role) that led to his nervous breakdown that nearly destroyed him. Poignant and beautifully directed by newcomer Scott Hicks (Best Director nominee), the film never panders, preaches or offers any simple answers yet does depict mental illness earnestly with devestating clarity. Rush gives a bravura performance that deserves a standing ovation. Best sequence: the lead-in to Helfgott's crash as he attempts the monumental musical challenge, Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto #3, or notoriously known as "The Rach 3".

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15 out of 19 people found the following comment useful :-
A stunning film, 4 August 2000

Author: ladylynch from Illinois

This movie is definitely in my top five favorite movies of all time. It is unbelievably brilliant. Geoffrey Rush, dare I say, is perhaps the greatest actor of modern times. His performance alone is worth watching, let alone the outstanding supporting cast! Definitely not in typical Hollywood fashion, the movie is a truly great indie film. A must see for music lovers and indie film lovers alike.

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18 out of 25 people found the following comment useful :-
A little slight on the writing, but the acting and presentation is brilliant, 8 April 2004

Author: FilmOtaku (ssampon@hotmail.com) from Milwaukee, WI

When I originally saw this film in the mid-90's, I was absolutely devastated throughout the first forty-five minutes. So much so, I was pretty much uncontrollably weeping, much to the chagrin of the friend I went with. Time has softened the film a lot for me, but it still remains a powerful, tender and somewhat inspirational film about a piano prodigy who has led a pretty tragic life. Geoffrey Rush is unbelievable as the piano prodigy David Helfgott, and although the film is kind of sewn up a little quickly with the Vanessa Redgrave subplot (what about Helfgott made her so in love with him in a short period of time as to want to marry him?) it is a very well done film that I highly recommend to just about anyone, but especially musicians and music lovers.

--Shelly

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14 out of 19 people found the following comment useful :-
Intense, Well-Acted & Photographed Movie, 7 August 2006

Author: ccthemovieman-1 from Lockport, NY, United States

This was a very interesting movie and pleasant surprise, although sometimes that theme of the obsessive parent driving a kid crazy gets overworked. Nonetheless, it's a very well-made movie.

Geoffrey Rush is fascinating in the lead role as "David Helfgott." However, I would give equal kudos to Noah Taylor, who played Helfgott as a teenager, and to Armin Mueller-Stahl, who was Helfgott's father. They were just as impressive as Rush.

This is a supposedly true-life story of child prodigy piano player from Australia. As you can imagine, the music in here is excellent. Even better is the cinematography. Wow, this looks and sounds fantastic on DVD.

Although not always pleasant to watch, the story is riveting; hard to put down once you've started watching. The ending turned me off a bit with the overt plug for astrology, but is a happy one for all parties and at least leaves the viewer feeling satisfied.

In all, a very intense, beautifully-photographed biography.

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19 out of 29 people found the following comment useful :-
excellent film, good in all departments, seriously moving, 23 October 2000

Author: Peter Codner from Devizes, England

This is a good film in every sense but will mean most to fathers with strong views :).

The story of a brilliant young pianist whose relationship with his father drives him to some sort of mental illness. Watchable, absorbing, brilliantly edited, deeply seriously moving, one of the rare films that pays attention to incidental sound. Wonderful direction and acting. This is a seriously good film.

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10 out of 13 people found the following comment useful :-
Who Knew That Playing a Piano Could Be So Much Work?, 25 June 2000
Author: tfrizzell from United States

"Shine" is a pure joy to behold. Produced in Australia, it tells the true story of piano prodigy David Helfgott. Helfgott suffered a major nervous breakdown on the threshold of an imminently great career. The story shows him through a psychologically trying childhood, to his teenage years when he perfected his skills, to a stay in a mental asylum, and his subsequent return to stardom. Noah Taylor and Geoffrey Rush (in a well-deserved Oscar-winning turn) played Helfgott during his teenage and adult years. Armin Mueller-Stahl is also excellent as the abusive father (in an Oscar-nominated performance). However, the film stalls on several occasions. This is bad considering that the film is only 1 hour and 45 minutes long. Lynn Redgrave's role is terrible, she is totally wrong for this film. "Shine" is a prime example of a near miss. The film is very good in almost all aspects, but these problems keep "Shine" from being the masterpiece it should have been. 4 out of 5 stars.

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5 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
A tribute to music and love, 16 November 2005

Author: titodonaire from Honduras

A brilliant film, an intense story, very well performed and directed. One of my favorite films ever. I think George Geoffrey was incredible in this film...he became Helfgot and so did Mueller-Stahl in his role as the father. Sir John Gelgud plays a very important role in the drama as the teacher that marks a notable difference in getting the best from Helfgot. It's a chant to courage, love and music. A must for all music lovers...usually emotional people. It can be very useful for teaching parents in how not to raise children with talent and it shows how overwhelmed love can be sometimes dangerous for the physical and mental safety of our children.

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
A lovely film, 16 December 2006

Author: karl_consiglio from Malta

Based on the true life story of David Helfgott. Starts with the early years under his possessive father's roof. We discover that this boy is truly a talent and child prodigy pianist with a great future once he builds up the courage to break free from his father, even, if not especially psychologically. Finally one Day he makes his way to London. He goes to further his mastering of the art at the royal college of music now in his late youth where he is attempting his long time dream Rachmaninov's Rach 5, which basically if you ask me sums up life itself and that is why the next thing you know is that he has suffered an intense break down. And it is truly with the help of God that the tables eventually turn, and the fact that no matter how cookoo he appears you cannot help but feel for how adorable he is really. And eventually he finds real love which gets him back on his feet again and leave from the petty bar where he found some work as a pianist again and got his recognition back and basically get back to the stage and the light in which he belongs and that is another story.

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