‘Piano Dreams’: Galway Review

Dir: Gary Lennon. Ireland. 2022. 85mins

Anyone dreaming of becoming the next Lang Lang or Sa Chen will discover that the odds are heftily stacked against them in Piano Dreams. Gary Lennon’s eye-opening documentary informs us that they are more than 40 million piano students in China, laconically observing “for some of them there is no plan B”.  Picking out three hopefuls from the crowd, the film charts their individual journeys while offering a fresh perspective on modern China and the aspirations of the middle-classes. The involving human interest stories and unobtrusive handling should ensure that it hits the right notes at documentary festivals and on arts channels.

Piano Dreams seems like a straightforward, observational documentary but throughout Lennon tries to look beyond the cliche to a more complex reality

Director Gary Lennon (Castro’s Spies, 2020) was a Shanghai resident from 2002 to 2005 and lived next door to the city’s Music Conservatory, where he became acutely aware of the “piano mania” sweeping the country. In Piano Dreams, he captures the lives of three star players: eight year-old Xia Zidi dreams of being a pilot by day and a pianist by night; 12 year-old Xi Yingying wants to be a famous concert pianist; and 19 year-old Zhou Yu’ang has his heart set on studying in the USA as “all the best music schools in the world are in America.”

Lennon provides ample evidence of the trio’s talent and application. Every waking moment is reserved for improving their mastery of a Steinway. Practising four or five hours a day seems a minimum requirement, and that’s on top of schoolwork. Competitions are a major source of validation and a chance to go head to head with their peers. It is a life of intense focus, self-discipline and sacrifice which is also acutely felt by their families; especially mothers, who have put everything on hold to support their child in Shanghai. Still, the cliche of tiger parents relentlessly pushing their child to succeed is not quite the reality here. There is a concern for the welfare of the child, especially on the part of Xia Zidi’s mother Xu Jiajia.

Piano Dreams seems like a straightforward, observational documentary but throughout Lennon tries to look beyond the cliche to a more complex reality. The relationship between pupil and teacher is vital, but there isn’t quite the intensity of Whiplash here. Most of the teachers demand obedience and hard work, but are often involved in the wider life of the child. Chen Panpan is almost a father figure to Xia Zidi, although he does threaten: “If your grandfather wasn’t here, I’d smack you.”

The drive to avoid the obvious is also seen in the depiction of Shanghai itself. Lennon and cinematographers Richard Hughes (also listed as co-director) and Sascha Shoerberl depict a Shanghai of wealth and luxury. Towering office blocks gleam in the bright sunlight, city lights twinkle across the sweep and scale of the city at night.

Cara Holmes’ editing balances the three different stories through academic struggles and musical triumphs. There is no overt commentary but the images and editing help pull out the recurring themes of family, sacrifice and food. Reunions always seem to happen around tables groaning with feasts; one more sign of the wealth among China’s urban middle-class.

The three pianists represent a different generation. Working against the perceived notion of a robotic quality in Chinese performers who have learned all the notes but little of the feeling, the trio all seem to strive towards a flow in their playing and an emotional understanding of the music. Piano Dreams very much captures a sense of changing times. One person comments, ”I think the piano will soon be like the computer-almost every home will have one. Just like when tv first came to China.”