The life of a child prodigy is never an easy one, and six-year-old Vitus von Holzen is quite the child prodigy. With an I.Q. so off-the-charts it's been classified as "incalculable," Vitus is already such an accomplished pianist that he would give Mozart and Beethoven a run for their money in the musical genius sweepstakes. Vitus' parents are justifiably proud of their son and understandably intent on affording him every opportunity possible for him to fulfill his rare, God-given potential. But how is a boy supposed to have a "normal childhood" when he's eons ahead of his peers in intelligence and talent and when even his own teachers are intimidated by his knowledge? Small wonder he's an arrogant, precocious little brat long before he's reached puberty (he's already planning on attending college at age 13). Yet, at what point does a boy finally rebel against his "specialness" and seek the life of a "normal" child? Well, in a shocking turn of events, Vitus comes up with a way of doing just that.<br /><br />"Vitus" is a superb German film that vividly captures the stress and strain of having an adult brain essentially trapped inside a child's psyche. But the movie also brings into focus the nonstop struggle the parents go through as they attempt to find a balance between nurturing and cultivating the child's talents, on the one hand, and not making a psychological wreck of him on the other. And how much of their obsession with the child's gift really just comes down to the glory he reflects back on them as parents? And whose dreams are they really trying to fulfill through his success anyway, his or their own?<br /><br />Brilliantly written by Peter Luisi, Lukas B. Suter and Fredi M. Murer, and solidly directed by Murer, "Vitus" takes us into a world we don't often visit in the movies - that of the mysteries of the intellect - and does so with ingenious plotting, complex characterizations and outstanding performances by a wonderful cast. Julika Jenkins and Urs Jucker are excellent as the parents who certainly mean well but who don't always act in the best interest of their child, while Bruno Gans provides a strong emotional focal point as the loving grandfather who is the one person in Vitus' life who provides him with a safe place where he can live life without pressure and just be a normal kid. The two young actors who play Vitus - Fabrizio Borsani at six and Teo Gheorghiu at twelve - don't hit a single false note in their portrayals of a character who is half grownup and half temperamental child.<br /><br />Nobody is a hero or a villain in this film; they're just well-intentioned individuals trying to work their way through an unusual and challenging situation without making a total mess of everything in the process.<br /><br />The script does lose its way a bit in the second half, wandering too far into wish-fulfillment fantasy and the arcane muddle of big business deal-making and stock portfolios for its own good, but that's a small enough flaw in a movie that otherwise provides an abundance of inarguable virtues.