Prodigies

天之娇女

Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score : -

Opening : 05 Dec 2024

Runtime : 109 mins

JUMP TO SECTION

Details ⋅ Review ⋅ Trailer

Format(s) Available

DIGITAL

Rating	PG13 Some Coarse Language
Language	Frenchwith English subtitles
Genre	Biopic, Drama
Director	Frédéric and Valentin Potier
Cast	Camille Razat, Mélanie Robert, Franck Dubosc and Isabelle Carre
Synopsis	Claire and Jeanne, twin virtuoso pianists, are admitted to a prestigious music university run by the intractable Professor Klaus Lenhardt. They carry the ambition of their father, who has sacrificed everything to make them the best. But an orphan's disease gradually weakens their hands, suddenly compromising their ascent. Refusing to give up on their dream, they have to fight and reinvent themselves to become, more than ever, prodigious. Based on true events.

REVIEWS

By InCinemas 27 Nov 2024

An intense emotional lesson on passion, illness, and the unyielding human spirit in the demanding world of classical music.

read more

Prodigieuses or Prodigies, a captivating 101-minute film directed by Frédéric Potier and Valentin Potier is a dramatic biopic, inspired by the story of the twin sisters, Audrey and Diane Pleynet and which showcases their incredible journey of twins with extraordinary piano talent as they overcome numerous adversities to stay true to their love of music.

The film stars Camille Razat (best known for her role in Emily in Paris), Mélanie Robert, Franck Dubosc and Isabelle Carré in the main roles.

The film opens to the excitable young Vallois twins, Claire (Razat) and Jeanne (Robert) waiting their respective turn to play in a piano competition. It is evident that Jeanne is the less confident twin and to overcome her anxiety attack, Jeanne repeatedly recites the mantra “the bird, the butterfly, I can fly” to calm her nerves. Their father (Dubosc) with their mother (Carré) are in the audience ready to capture their performances on video.

On their way home after the competition, their father is upset that neither twin won the gold award and tells them that only losers settle for second best. In anger, Claire throws the silver award out of the car window. To defuse the tense atmosphere, the family bursts into a sing along session signalling a terse start of the twins’ planned path to reach perfection as pianists.

Year later, we meet Claire and Jeanne who both have now been accepted into the prestigious Karlsruhe University of Music in Germany, which is run by the intractable and demanding Professor Klaus Lenhardt (August Wittgenstein). We learn that their parents have sacrificed their own career opportunities and devoted their life to supervise Claire and Jeanne to be the best pianists of their generation.

At the start of the audition to select students for training to ultimately compete for the soloist position at the concert organised by the school, Professor Lenhardt bluntly tells the prospective students that “…here you are nothing”. Claire sails through the audition without a hitch and is selected to be trained by Lenhardt. Jeanne who is still plagued by anxiety has her ability dismissed by Lenhard in comparison to her sister who comment callously as to why he should have a “pale copy instead of the original”. Jeanne is allocated to tutelage by his assistant, Frau Fischer along with other students who fail to make his selection.

The twins keep the details of the selection from their faither for fear of his likely disappointed outburst. Meanwhile, Claire has found love in Daniel and begs Jeanne to keep this a secret as their father runs their lives like athletes with strict routines, including eating the same food for breakfast to the rule of having “no boyfriends” which severely hampers any form of asocial life. Unfortunately, their father discovers Claire’s secret outing with Daniel at a jazz bar and he warns the latter to stay away from Claire, before taking her home and forcefully confiscating her mobile.

Soon, Claire experiences increasing stiffness and pains in her hands which makes training sessions with the perfectionist Lenhardt a growing nightmare. He contemplates putting forth another candidate as soloist. Then by chance, he discovers Jeanne playing beautifully on the piano and he tells her that she should have played this way at the initial selection for the soloist. On the pretext of sending Jeanne home, he takes her to a recital instead. He introduces her to the audience and makes the bewildered Jeanne play on the piano. Jeanne overcomes her anxiety and performs spectacularly. Rinne, the renowned conductor, sitting amongst the guests, is immediately captivated by the Jeanne’s exceptional talent.

Lenhardt changes the soloist to Jeanne despite her protests, and Claire is devastated when she discovers the change. Understandably, she feels betrayed by Jeanne. As her physical condition deteriorates, Claire seeks medical help. The doctor diagnoses that Claire’s condition is caused by bone demineralization, which may also affect her twin. Frustrated and infuriated by the doctor’s findings, the father refused to accept that both his daughters will not attain excellence in the world of music.

Meanwhile Jeanne is attracted to Lenhardt and gives in to her sexual desires at a training session in school. Before long, Jeanne starts to suffer from similar pains, and it became clear to their parents that Claire and Jeanne can no longer compete and be the best.

Devastated but unwilling to accept their fate, Claire and Jeanne must find new and creative ways to attain their dreams. They realise that their love for the piano and music is not an extension of their father’s ambition, but their unbreakable shared passion and destiny.

Will Claire and Jeanne overcome this seemingly insurmountable adversity and succeed? Will the twins find the support they need from their parents? Experience Prodigies for yourself and be inspired by this tale of familial love and hate, human resilience and strength in the face of adversity.

Camille Razat and Mélanie Robert must be congratulated for their amazing onscreen chemistry, and they both give incredible performances with their portrayal of the twin protagonists. Both actresses succeed in connecting the audience to the dynamics and emotional depth of sisterhood driven by a common love of music but placed under pressure by competition.

The Potier brothers should also be applauded for inspiring us with an immensely enjoyable film which provides an intense emotional lesson on passion, illness, and the unyielding human spirit in the demanding world of classical music in the context of a tightly knit albeit problematic family.
read less

TRAILERS

Get Showtimes

Prodigies