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Every now and than a unique picture unexpectedly comes along and attracts a special audience. In Shine, the award-winning film directed by Scott Hicks, David Helfgott is the unlikely attraction: a man who suffers a mental collapse following his completion of the prodigious Rachmaninoff Third Piano Concerto in a piano competition. When a film like this becomes popular there are usually special conditions at work to focus attention on the film. Just as the art world accommodates the appearance of Outsider Art and Art Brut, with is psychological immediacy and disruption of expectancy, David Helfgott is a departure from the high culture of classical music and musicians. He is best understood as an Outsider Musician.
Made in Australia, this independent film begins with an adult David outside a restaurant looking in, immediately establishing David's status as a social outsider. The narrative then traces episodes from David's childhood that lead to his confused appearance at the restaurant.
The intensity of the feelings aroused by David and his continuing plight (which somehow conveys what must be part of David's real personality), his ability to attract interest, and the appeal of talent and genius are instrumental in creating this unique film. We are invited to follow