2023 Sundance Film Festival Movie Review: Pianoforte

Pianoforte is a documentary that looks that the Chopin Piano Competition, the prestigious competition held in Warsaw, Poland that sees the world’s best young piano players come together and compete for a chance of a lifetime. It is a gripping, emotional ride filled with thrilling musical numbers as well as a fascinating analysis on competition and the pursuit of perfection.

Director Jakub Piątek, whose feature film debut, Prime Time, premiered at the 2021 virtual Sundance Film Festival, takes his directorial talents to documentaries here and his efforts here show great growth for the director. Piątek starts the film off by establishing the pianists that we will be focusing on in this 80-plus-person contest, and each competitor is different. They come from all different parts of the world and range in different ages. We get someone like Eva, a 17-year-old who at such a young age has a resume of impressive accomplishments and regularly performs all over the world. But, she is practicing non-stop and is being pushed by her teacher and her mother. Then there is Alexander Gadjiev, a social-media famous pianist who uses yoga, stretching, and breathing as a way to relax and practice and spends his evenings going out and having drinks and hanging out with friends. There are several pianists that we meet and learn how they prepare mentally and physically for their performances. 

As someone who knows very little about piano, piano players, and the piano-playing world, watching these pianists perform was astonishing. Seeing their passion and the physicality in all their performances was a sight to see. But also, not knowing anything about piano or piano playing, all of their performances sounded flawless to me, but according to the pianists they weren’t. Piątek shows us interviews with the pianists before and after their performances. You see the excitement and nervousness of the pianists before they get on stage, and when they come off, they are exhausted, like they just played forty-eight on a basketball court, and are constantly critiquing their performance. This allowed us insight into the mind of these young pianists and how they think of themselves as performers.

Pianoforte brings up interesting, thought-provoking questions about the pursuit of perfection. How much practice is too much practice? Is too much practice the best possible way to achieve perfection? We see someone like Eva, who seems to be practicing and thinking about her performances every waking moment. We also have someone like Alexander, who still puts in practice, but makes sure to hang out with his friends and relax. These two pianists go about their crafts differently, yet are in the same competition and playing at the highest level in the world. It’s an interesting dynamic watching how each pianist goes about their performances and practice and where they end up placing in the competition and have you thinking about how far they are willing to push themselves. 

While it takes place in the music world, watching Pianoforte was like watching a great sports documentary. The performance scenes felt like game action and these pianists are some of the most talented musicians in the world and are performing on the biggest stage. It’s excellent work from Piątek and his best work as a director so far.

Pianoforte premiered in the World Documentary Competition at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.