Review: A Surprise in Texas

The story of Nobuyuki Tsujii is truly inspiring. Blind since birth, the Japanese classical pianist has not let his disability prevent him from becoming a renowned musician who has won accolades the world over for his amazing talent.

The new documentary A Surprise in Texas chronicles Tsujii's stellar performances at the 2009 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in Fort Worth, Texas, one of the world's most prestigious musical competitions. The film, which opens Friday at the Arbor, follows Tsujii and a half-dozen other young competitors during the grueling three-week event. Produced and directed by veteran documentarian Peter Rosen for the Van Cliburn Foundation, A Surprise in Texas is a pleasant enough peek into the world of the Van Cliburn competition. But while it captures the power of the concert performances, it's far less successful at humanizing most of the performers or turning a compelling subject into a compelling film.

A Surprise in Texas is a conventional documentary, interweaving musical performances, behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with the competitors, judges and fans. The film centers on Tsujii, an amiable and thoroughly focused 20-year-old who seems to prefer playing piano over anything else in life. While his practice-practice-practice work ethic has paid off handsomely, he maintains a very likable humility, seeming genuinely surprised when he does so well amid a field of breathtakingly talented competitors. His blindness apparently has little effect on his drive or spirit.

The film also delves into the competition's exhausting schedule, which fills very long days with endlessly nitpicky rehearsals and nerve-wracking performances before judges and sellout audiences at Fort Worth's Bass Performance Hall. Of the 29 competitors, only six survive the first two elimination rounds, which involve solo and small ensemble performances. The six finalists perform with the Fort Worth Symphony, and three are awarded medals.

Unfortunately, A Surprise in Texas treats most of the competitors as little more than bit players, giving them scant interview time and never really fleshing out their stories. They serve mostly as musical counterpoints to Tsujii. While the generous concert footage and comments from the judges establish that they're all stellar musicians with unique performance styles, we learn almost nothing about their backstories, and there is little to differentiate them as people. They come from countries as varied as China, Italy and Bulgaria, and the film could have mined their diverse cultural backgrounds for a wealth of interesting life experiences. But instead we see only superficial glimpses into their personalities and lives. The brief interviews center mainly on their opinions about music, and most of their comments aren't terribly original or insightful. We've all heard about "losing yourself in the music" before.

Granted, A Surprise in Texas is really about Tsujii, and the film does a good job of describing who he is. But this narrow focus also is the film's major problem. It presents Tsujii within the larger context of the competition, but because we know so little about the other competitors, we don't care much about them. And if we don't care about the competitors, why care about who wins? Without this fundamental human angle, A Surprise in Texas lacks the suspense and tension that drive the best documentaries about the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat (for example, Spellbound). I won't spoil the ending, but early on it's rather obvious who wins.

A Surprise in Texas obviously was made on a shoestring budget, and I normally forgive low-budget films for skimpy production values and other shortcomings that go hand in hand with limited funds. But some aspects of A Surprise in Texas look jarringly low rent, and the film lacks the style or creativity to overcome the obvious budgetary constraints.

Much of the concert footage is lovingly shot and sounds terrific, doing justice to the Beethoven sonatas and Liszt concertos. But the performances are stitched together with other footage in a workmanlike, mostly uninspired way, and the numerous quick-cut edits are often distracting. The technique of having multiple images in a single frame is overused, and the overly large and plain titles look out of place in a film about such an elegant subject. Parts of the film seem hastily produced, looking and feeling more like an overgrown cable access show than a theatrical film.

That said, classical music fans and wannabe Van Cliburn winners will find much of interest in A Surprise in Texas. The music is superb, and the film is enlightening for those unfamiliar with the Van Cliburn competition. I just wish it were as inspiring, polished and passionate as the stunning performances it celebrates.