Shine (film)

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Shine
The original film poster
Directed by	Scott Hicks
Screenplay by	Jan Sardi
Story by	Scott Hicks
Produced by	Jane Scott
Starring	Armin Mueller-Stahl Noah Taylor Geoffrey Rush Lynn Redgrave John Gielgud
Cinematography	Geoffrey Simpson
Edited by	Pip Karmel
Music by	David Hirschfelder
Production companies	South Australian Film Corporation Film Victoria Australian Film Finance Corporation Pandora Cinema BBC Films
Distributed by	Ronin Films
Release date	21 January 1996 (1996-01-21) (Sundance Film Festival) 15 August 1996 (1996-08-15) (Australia) 20 November 1996 (1996-11-20) (United States)
Running time	105 minutes
Country	Australia
Language	English
Budget	$6 million[1]
Box office	$36 million[2]

Shine is a 1996 Australian biographical psychological drama film based on the life of David Helfgott, a pianist who suffered a mental breakdown and spent years in institutions.

The film stars Geoffrey Rush, Lynn Redgrave, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Noah Taylor, John Gielgud, Googie Withers, Justin Braine, Sonia Todd, Nicholas Bell, Chris Haywood, and Alex Rafalowicz. The film was directed by Scott Hicks. The screenplay was written by Jan Sardi.

Shine had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. In 1997, Geoffrey Rush was awarded the Academy Award for Best Actor at the 69th Academy Awards for his performance in the lead role.

Plot[]

A young man (Geoffrey Rush) wanders through a heavy rainstorm, finding his way into a nearby restaurant. The restaurant's employees try to determine if he needs help. Despite his manic mode of speech being difficult to understand, a waitress, Sylvia, learns that his name is David Helfgott and that he is staying at a local hotel. Sylvia returns him to the hotel, and despite his attempts to engage her with his musical knowledge and ownership of various musical scores, she leaves.

As a child, David is growing up in suburban Adelaide, South Australia and competing in the musical competition of a local Eisteddfod. Helfgott has been taught to play by his father, Peter (Armin Mueller-Stahl), who is obsessed with winning and has no tolerance for imperfection or disobedience. While playing at the Eisteddfod, David is noticed by Mr. Rosen, a local piano teacher who, after initial resistance from Peter, takes over David's musical instruction.

As a teenager, David wins the state musical championship and is invited by concert violinist Isaac Stern to study in United States. Although plans are made to raise money to send David off for America and that his family is initially supportive, Peter forbids David to leave, thinking his absence would destroy the family. To make matters worse, Peter begins physically and mentally abusing David which causes strain to the rest of the family.

Crushed, David continues to study and befriends local novelist and co-founder of the Communist Party of Australia, Katharine Susannah Prichard (Googie Withers). David's talent grows until he is offered a scholarship to the Royal College of Music in London. This time, David is able to break away from his father with the encouragement of Katharine. However, his father issues an ultimatum, effectively banishing David: "If you leave you will no longer be my son."

In London, David studies under Dr. Cecil Parkes (John Gielgud) and enters a Concerto competition, choosing to play Sergei Rachmaninoff's enormously demanding 3rd Concerto, a piece he had attempted to learn as a young child to make his father proud.

As David practices, his behavior becomes increasingly unhinged. David wins the competition, but collapses and suffers a mental breakdown. Admitted to a psychiatric hospital, David receives electric shock therapy to treat his condition. David recovers to the point where he is able to return to Australia but his attempts to reconcile with his father are rebuffed due to the latter's mindset that David abandoned his family. This causes David to relapse and he is forced to be readmitted to a mental institution.

Years later, a volunteer at the institution recognizes David and knows of his musical talent. The woman takes him home but discovers that he is difficult to control, unintentionally destructive, and needs more care than she can offer. As time passes, David has difficulty adjusting to life in broader society again, and often leaves the hotel to stimulate his interests.

The next day, David returns to the restaurant where the patrons are astounded by his ability to play the piano. One of the owners befriends David and looks after him. In return, David plays at the restaurant. Through the owner, David is introduced to an employee named Gillian (Lynn Redgrave). David and Gillian soon fall in love and marry. With Gillian's help and support, David is able to come to terms with his father's death and to stage a well-received comeback concert, presaging his return to professional music.

Cast[]

Production[]

Geoffrey Rush resumed piano lessons—suspended when he was 14—in order not to require a hand double.^[3]

Release[]

Shine grossed $35,892,330 in the United States and Canada. The film also grossed $10,187,418 at the box office in Australia.^[4]

Home media[]

Roadshow Entertainment released the film on VHS on 4 July 1996, and on DVD on 18 November 1997. Umbrella Entertainment released the film on the 20th anniversary DVD on 5 May 2015.^[5]

Reception[]

Shine was met with acclaim from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds a 91% approval rating based on 44 reviews, with an average rating of 8/10. The critical consensus states, "featuring a strong performance from Geoffrey Rush, Shine succeeds in telling a compelling, inspirational story without resorting to cheap sentimentality".^[6] On Metacritic, the film holds an 87 rating out of a possible 100 from 27 critic reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".^[7] Critic Roger Ebert rated the film four out of four stars, stating "There has been much talk in 1996 about films whose filmmakers claim they were based on true stories but were kidding (Fargo), and films whose filmmakers claimed they were based on true stories but might have been lying (Sleepers). Here is a movie that is based on the truth beneath a true story."^[8]

Historical accuracy[]

Critics allege that certain events and relationships in David's life are portrayed with wild inaccuracy, sometimes even fabricated, resulting in damage to the reputations of real people. Helfgott's sister Margaret Helfgott, in her book Out of Tune,^[9] stresses in particular the case of Helfgott's father Peter Helfgott, who was, according to her, a loving husband, over-lenient parent and very far from the abusive tyrant portrayed in Shine. Peter Helfgott's decision to prevent David from going overseas at the age of 14 was not made with the vindictive spirit portrayed in Shine, she claims, but a reasonable judgment that he was not ready for such independence. Margaret Helfgott further claims to have been pressured by David's second wife Gillian and by the publishers of the film to stop making trouble for them by telling her story. Although Margaret Helfgott has possession of letters between Helfgott and his father, the copyright is held by Gillian Helfgott, who has prevented their contents from being published.^[10]

Margaret Helfgott's criticisms have been disputed by people involved with making the film. Scott Hicks published a letter to The Wall Street Journal when Margaret Helfgott's book came out, defending the authenticity of the movie's portrayal of Helfgott's childhood and suggesting that David's other siblings, Susie and Les, were at odds with Margaret's claims and were happy with the movie.^[11] John Macgregor—who was involved in the research and wrote the treatments for Shine—wrote, in a letter to The Australian, that the portrayal of the Helfgotts' father was supported not only by David's 'elephantine' recollections, but (with the exception of Margaret) by every family member and family friend he and Scott Hicks interviewed, as well as by every interviewee who had a professional or musical connection with David throughout his early life.^[12] However, David's brother Les has described the portrayal of their father both in Shine and in Gillian Helfgott's biography as "all outright lies". David Helfgott's first wife Clare Papp has also said that Peter Helfgott was "quite badly maligned" in the film.^[13] In a letter to the editor of Limelight magazine, published in the September 2013 edition, Margaret and Les Helfgott refer to certain claims made in an article in the August 2013 edition and state that "there was no estrangement from members of David's family following his return to Australia. On the contrary, he moved straight back into the family home, and was cared for by our family. Dad was not 'overbearing', and his main objection to David's going abroad was his concern for his son's welfare."^[14]

Helfgott's mother said the film haunted her and that she felt "an evil had been done".^[10]

Pianistic ability[]

Critics also claim that Helfgott's pianistic ability is grossly exaggerated. In a journal article,^[10] the New Zealand philosopher Denis Dutton claims that Helfgott's piano playing during his comeback in the latter part of the 1990s has "severe technical and aesthetic deficiencies which would be unacceptable in any musician whose reputation had not been inflated beyond recognition". Dutton claims that, while listening to the movie, he covered his eyes during the parts where Helfgott's playing was used in order to concentrate entirely on the music, and not be distracted by the acting. He felt that the musicianship, when perceived in isolation, was not of a particularly high standard. Helfgott's recent tours have been well attended because, according to Dutton, Shine's irresponsible glamorisation of Helfgott's ability has attracted a new audience who are not deeply involved in the sound of Helfgott's playing, thereby, he says, drawing deserved public attention away from pianists who are more talented and disciplined.^{[citation needed]}

The early career triumphs documented by the film are factual. Violin virtuoso Isaac Stern wanted to bring Helfgott to the US to mentor; conductor Daniel Barenboim was a great admirer; and Helfgott's Royal College of Music tutors did indeed praise his playing in such terms as "sheer genius". But the film's makers have pointed out that critics of Helfgott's present-day technical ability are missing the point – which is not that Helfgott is now one of the world's great pianists (a claim that has never been made), but that the love of his wife enabled him to sufficiently recover from a long and bitter struggle with mental illness to play again for audiences.^{[citation needed]}

Awards[]

Association	Accolade	Recipient	Results
20/20 Awards	Best Original Screenplay	Jan Sardi & Scott Hicks	Nominated
	Best Actor	Geoffrey Rush	Won
	Best Editing	Pip Karmel	Nominated
Academy Awards	Best Picture	Jane Scott	Nominated
	Best Director	Scott Hicks	Nominated
	Best Actor	Geoffrey Rush	Won
	Best Supporting Actor	Armin Mueller-Stahl	Nominated
	Best Original Screenplay	Jan Sardi & Scott Hicks	Nominated
	Best Film Editing	Pip Karmel	Nominated
	Best Original Dramatic Score	David Hirschfelder	Nominated
American Cinema Editors Awards	Best Editing Feature Film	Pip Karmel	Nominated
Art Film Festival Awards	Art Fiction: Best Director	Scott Hicks	Won
Australian Performing Rights Association Awards	Best Film Score	David Hirschfelder	Won
Australian Film Institute Awards	Best Film	Jane Scott	Won
	Best Director	Scott Hicks	Won
	Best Screenplay, Original	Jan Sardi	Won
	Best Actor in a Lead Role	Geoffrey Rush	Won
	Best Actor in a Lead Role	Noah Taylor	Nominated
	Best Original Music Score	David Hirshfelder	Won
	Best Achievement in Sound	Toivo Lember Roger Savage Livia Ruzic Gareth Vanderhope	Won
	Best Achievement in Cinematography	Geoffrey Simpson	Won
	Best Achievement in Editing	Pip Karmel	Won
	Best Achievement in Production Design	Vicki Niehus	Nominated
	Best Achievement in Costume Design	Louise Wakefield	Nominated
Australian Writers Guild awards	Feature Film - Original	Jan Sardi	Won
Awards Circuit Community Awards	Best Original Score	David Hirschfelder	Nominated
	Best Actor in a Leading Role	Geoffrey Rush	Nominated
Awards of the Japanese Academy	Best Foreign Film		Nominated
BAFTA Awards	Best Film	Jane Scott & Scott Hicks	Nominated
	Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role	Geoffrey Rush	Won
	Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role	John Gielgud	Nominated
	Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role	Lynn Redgrave	Nominated
	Best Sound	Jim Greenhorn Toivo Lember Livia Ruzic Roger Savage Gareth Vanderhope	Won
	Best Screenplay - Original	Jan Sardi	Nominated
	Best Editing	Pip Karmel	Nominated
Boston Society of Film Critics Awards	Best Actor	Geoffrey Rush	Won
Camerimage Awards	Bronze Frog		Won
	Golden Frog		Nominated
Chicago Film Critics Association Awards	Best Actor		Nominated
	Most Promising Actor		Nominated
Chlotrudis Awards	Best Actor	Noah Taylor	Nominated
Critics Choice Awards	Best Picture		Nominated
	Best Actor	Geoffrey Rush	Won
Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards	Best Picture		Nominated
	Best Actor	Geoffrey Rush	Won
Directors Guild of America Awards	Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures	Scott Hicks	Nominated
Fantasporto Awards	Best Director		Won
Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards	Best Film		Won
	Best Actor - Male	Geoffrey Rush	Won
	Best Supporting Actor - Male	Noah Taylor	Won
Florida Film Critics Circle Awards	Best Actor	Geoffrey Rush	Won
Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival Awards	Best Film	Scott Hicks	Won
	Best Actor	Noah Taylor	Won
Golden Globe Awards	Best Motion Picture - Drama		Nominated
	Best Director - Motion Picture	Scott Hicks	Nominated
	Best Screenplay - Motion Picture	Jan Sardi	Nominated
	Best Lead Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama	Geoffrey Rush	Won
	Best Original Score - Motion Picture	David Hirschfelder	Nominated
Hawaii International Film Festival Awards	Best Narrative Feature	Scott Hicks	Won
Humanitas Prize Awards	Feature Film Category	Jan Sardi & Scott Hicks	Nominated
London Critics Circle Film Awards	Actor of the Year	Geoffrey Rush	Won
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards	Best Actor		Won
	Best Supporting Actor	Armin Mueller-Stahl	Nominated
National Board of Review Awards	Best Film		Won
	Top Ten Films		Won
National Society of Film Critics Awards	Best Actor	Geoffrey Rush	Nominated
New York Film Critics Circle Awards	Best Actor		Won
Online Film & Television Association Awards Archived 22 February 2016 at the Wayback Machine	Best Picture	Jane Scott	Nominated
	Best Drama Picture		Nominated
	Best Director	Scott Hicks	Nominated
	Best Original Screenplay	Jan Sardi	Nominated
	Best Actor	Geoffrey Rush	Won
	Best Drama Actor		Won
	Best Score	David Hirschfelder	Nominated
Producers Guild of America Awards	Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures	Jane Scott	Nominated
Rotterdam International Film Festival Awards	Audience Award	Scott Hicks	Won
San Diego Film Critics Society Awards	Best Supporting Actor	Armin Mueller-Stahl	Won
Satellite Awards	Best Motion Picture - Drama	Jane Scott	Nominated
	Best Director	Scott Hicks	Nominated
	Best Screenplay - Original	Jan Sardi	Nominated
	Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama	Geoffrey Rush	Won
	Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama	Armin Mueller-Stahl	Won
Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role	Geoffrey Rush	Won
	Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role	Noah Taylor	Nominated
	Outstanding Performance by an Cast in a Motion Picture	Armin Mueller-Stahl Noah Tyler Geoffrey Rush Lynn Redgrave Google Withers John Gielgud	Nominated
Society of Texas Film Critics Awards	Best Actor	Geoffrey Rush	Won
Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards	Best Picture		Nominated
	Best Actor	Geoffrey Rush	Nominated
St. Louis International Film Festival Awards	Audience Choice Award	Scott Hicks	Won
Toronto International Film Festival Awards	Metro Media Award		Won
	People's Choice Award		Won
Writers Guild of America Awards	Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen	Jan Sardi & Scott Hicks	Nominated
Yoga Awards	Worst Foreign Actor	Geoffrey Rush	Won

Soundtrack[]

1. "With a Girl Like You" (Reg Presley) – The Troggs
2. "Why Do They Doubt Our Love" written & perf by Johnny O'Keefe
3. Polonaise in A flat major, Op. 53 (Frédéric Chopin) – Ricky Edwards
4. "Fast zu Ernst" – Scenes from Childhood, Op. 15 (Robert Schumann) – Wilhelm Kempff
5. La Campanella (Franz Liszt) – David Helfgott
6. Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 in C sharp minor (Liszt) – David Helfgott
7. "The Flight of the Bumble Bee" (Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov) – David Helfgott
8. Gloria, RV 589 (Antonio Vivaldi)
9. "Un sospiro" (Liszt) – David Helfgott
10. "Nulla in mundo pax sincera" Vivaldi – Jane Edwards (vocals), Geoffrey Lancaster (harpsichord), Gerald Keuneman (cello)
11. "Daisy Bell" (Harry Dacre) – Ricky Edwards
12. "Funiculi, Funicula" (Luigi Denza)
13. Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30 (Sergei Rachmaninoff) – David Helfgott
14. Prelude in C sharp minor, Op. 3, No. 2 (Rachmaninoff) – David Helfgott
15. Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 (Ludwig van Beethoven)
16. Sonata No. 23 in F minor, "Appassionata", Op. 57 (Beethoven) – Ricky Edwards
17. Prelude in D flat major, "Raindrop", Op. 28, No. 15 (Chopin)

See also[]

• Cinema of Australia
• Trauma model of mental disorders
• South Australian Film Corporation

References[]

External links[]

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Shine (film)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Shine (film).

• Shine at IMDb
• Shine at Rotten Tomatoes
• Shine at Metacritic
• Shine at AllMovie
• Shine at Box Office Mojo
• Shine at Oz Movies