PIANOFORTE

Poland| 2023 | 89 min

From 1927, Warsaw holds the International Chopin Piano Competition every five years. Young talents execute increasingly difficult Chopin scores to conquer the coveted award offered by one of the most prestigious piano contests of the world. Jakub Piątek’s camera focuses on some of the contenders and observes them closely, coping with performance anxiety, the impossible pace of the competition, the burden of winning at all costs. Some have to deal with tutors severe to the point of cruelty, some with cumbersome families at their backs, some with the responsibility of an entire nation. Few of them will succeed, but the interesting part is mostly the journey, with some unexpected and surprising detours. Thanks to a very good editing job, which constructs an emotional narrative without ever dispelling the truth of words and images – and avoiding cunningly designed gimmicks and twists, where reality can write alone the perfect script. (e.s.)