Swiss film about prodigy could have been better

The kid hero of “Vitus” faces a tough decision: Should he be ordinary, or exceptional?

His musical gift, expressed as a piano prodigy, would suggest that the course has been made for him. But being a child prodigy brings its own set of problems, and Vitus realizes he might actually have a choice in the matter.

This is the casually diverting issue in this crowd-pleasing Swiss film, which has been making the festival circuit for the last year. It’s a nice movie that seems ho-hum when you place it against a childhood classic like “My Life as a Dog.”

There’s a little irony here, because “Vitus” is itself a rather ordinary film that might have been more distinctive. It settles for hitting buttons guaranteed to deliver certain responses.

One reason we know it could have been better is that once upon a time – well, 1985, to be exact – “Vitus” director Fredi M. Murer made an extraordinary film. That was “Alpine Fire,” an intense, gorgeously photographed story of forbidden passion perched on the slopes of the Swiss Alps.

Since then, Murer has made three features, but his movies were almost unseen in the U.S.

Vitus is a Zurich boy more admired than beloved by his parents. They’re keenly aware of how impressive their child looks to others, and Vitus is keenly aware of how keenly aware they are.

As exceptional as Vitus might be, he has regular-kid feelings his parents don’t get: a crush on his babysitter, a relaxed joy in the company of his warm, playful grandfather.

The grandfather is played by one of Europe’s great actors, Bruno Ganz. Needless to say, he’s rather different here from his recent performance as Hitler in “Downfall.”

Vitus is played as a tot by Fabrizio Borsani, as an adolescent by Teo Gheorghiu. Both actors are good, although the movie suffers from that odd jolt when the performer you’ve gotten used to is suddenly replaced.

All of this goes by painlessly, but you will wait in vain for “Vitus” to come through with anything memorable. It makes “Shine” look like a deep study of a similar subject, and “Shine” wasn’t really that great.