Our review of Prodigieuses, a virtuoso and resilient melodrama

They are twins and pushed by their father to become the best pianists in the world. Claire and Jeanne Vallois practice piano as a combat sport. You only have to listen to the rapid beat of the metronome placed on the piano to be convinced of this. The tempo is given. First film directed by a surprising father-son tandem, Frédéric and Valentin Potier, Prodigious takes the viewer into a race against time, where at first there seems to be no room for emotion.

In Karlsruhe, gifted little pianists who have become young women join a prestigious music university. A professor, Klaus Lenhardt (excellent August Wittgenstein) reigns there as a musical tyrant. « At home, your family thinks you are amazing. Here you are nothing ! »he asserts. The intractable teacher auditions Claire and reprimands Jeanne: « You work with your sister ? Well, there’s no point in having a poor copy…