Pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii, courtesy PBS
A SURPRISE IN TEXAS: THE THIRTEENTH VAN CLIBURN INTERNATIONAL PIANO COMPETITION
Friendly Rating: Music-oriented middle schoolers and older.
Saftey Rating: Some references to drinking to reduce tension, but no drunkeness.
Quality Rating: Starts really slow. Gets better in the end.
Airs tonight on PBS, check your local listings for times.
This documentary covering the prestigious piano competition is definitely aspirational viewing for kids who love music. Or for grown ups who love music.
The first forty-odd minutes drag – there isn’t enough about the competitors to draw you in, but lots and lots of piano playing. Where the movies really starts shining is during the second round of competition, when there are only 12 piano players to concentrate on. And then you start seeing the really wonderful story of Nobuyuki Tsujii, who is blind and from Japan and only speaks a few words of English – in Fort Worth, Texas.
That Nobu is charming as all get out helps immensely. And his playing really is amazing. But we really don’t get to know him or the other contestants that well and the result is a rather flat film, which at almost 90 minutes, really feels like it, at least until we get to the finals. Then, because the pressure is on, things start getting more interesting – including one young woman who comes off stage after her second concerto sobbing, “I survived the Cliburn!”
If you’ve got kids who are interested in music, this might be the sort of thing that could inspire them. Maybe if it’s just on in the room, as background music rather than something to watch?
