A fiery, autocratic piano teacher, Madame Sousatzka (Shirley MacLaine) has spent the last 30 years living in a London boardinghouse when she meets Manek Sen (Navin Chowdhry), a gifted 15-year-old Indian pianist. She believes she can turn him into a brilliant musician, starting from scratch
and molding him into a new whole. "I teach not only how to play the piano, but how to live," she claims. MADAME SOUSATZKA features a cast good enough to sidestep being sunk by the film's pedestrian script and direction. Five years after her Oscar-winning performance in TERMS OF ENDEARMENT,
MacLaine attempts to deliver another tour de force here, and while she's often quite good, ...
Released:
1988
Rated:
PG-13
Length:
122 mins