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Authors: Margaret Helfgott
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happened—in scene 21 of the published screenplay, the film refers to an “invitation” by Stern—and he
was surprised that Scott Hicks had not even consulted him about this. Stern even told journalists in 1997, after
Shine
came out, that he had never made any firm offer to David Helfgott.
However, in 1961, the young David, at once arrogant and naive, and caught up in the frenzy of all the press attention, let
his imagination run wild. He even convinced himself that he was actually going to live in Stern’s home in America.
James Penberthy and others in Perth musical circles, eager to put the city on the map as far as classical music was concerned,
were very keen that David follow Simon and Stern’s advice. But while my father shared their hopes and enthusiasm, he also
had to take account of parental concerns. He knew that David was incapable of looking after himself. He told those who were
making an effort to raise funds that if they enabled the whole family to go to America, then he would have no objection, because
we would be there to look after David. But as a father he couldn’t allow a young son—especially one with problems— to go off
on his own and fend for himself on the other side of the world.
My mother, my brother, and my sisters all think my father was right, as do I. To suggest, as
Shine
does, that my father was in some way mean-spirited is totally unfair. Holding back David’s career was not in the least my
father’s aim. He was extremely proud of his son and nurtured his talent in every way. He was David’s strongest advocate. But
allowing any boy who had just turned fourteen to live by himself so far away without proper provisions being made for him
would have been irresponsible, to say the least.
In David’s case, it would have been particularly inappropriate. He had never been abroad before; he was completely hopeless
in practical matters; and he needed to be looked after, cooked for, and cared for. He was also by that time behaving rather
erratically, although of course we did not know then that these may have been the first signs of a serious mental illness.
My father’s attitude was proved correct: when David did go to London of his own volition four years later, he fell ill and
ended up receiving psychiatric care.
In any case there simply wasn’t enough money available to finance the trip to America. Contrary to what is related in
Shine
, where my father and Mr. Rosen decide that David should have a bar mitzvah as a method of raising money for this trip, David
had already had his bar mitzvah almost a year earlier, when he turned thirteen, the usual age for this ceremony. His bar mitzvah
had nothing to do with “digging for gold,” as Mr. Rosen puts it in
Shine
, in one of several offensive references in the film to Jews or Judaism. My father may not have been an Orthodox Jew himself,
but he still had a strong desire to hold onto the basic tenets of Jewish tradition and to pass them on to his children.
So, with insufficient money forthcoming with which to fund the trip, the whole American proposal inevitably came to nothing.
However, the atmosphere created by the press, even though it had no real basis in fact, had raised David’s hopes sky high.
I remember my father tactfully trying to explain all this to David. But my brother had been so excited at the prospect of
going that he didn’t really take it all in, and, in part at least, blamed his father for the “offer” not materializing—as
though it were my father’s fault that he didn’t have enough money to pay for David to go and live in America.
* * *
After the Isaac Stern episode and its aftermath, the relationship between David and my father became less close. We were still
not sure, however, whether David’s gradual withdrawal from the family wasn’t simply the kind of difficult phase that many
adolescents go through. I was becoming more independent myself at this
was surprised that Scott Hicks had not even consulted him about this. Stern even told journalists in 1997, after
Shine
came out, that he had never made any firm offer to David Helfgott.
However, in 1961, the young David, at once arrogant and naive, and caught up in the frenzy of all the press attention, let
his imagination run wild. He even convinced himself that he was actually going to live in Stern’s home in America.
James Penberthy and others in Perth musical circles, eager to put the city on the map as far as classical music was concerned,
were very keen that David follow Simon and Stern’s advice. But while my father shared their hopes and enthusiasm, he also
had to take account of parental concerns. He knew that David was incapable of looking after himself. He told those who were
making an effort to raise funds that if they enabled the whole family to go to America, then he would have no objection, because
we would be there to look after David. But as a father he couldn’t allow a young son—especially one with problems— to go off
on his own and fend for himself on the other side of the world.
My mother, my brother, and my sisters all think my father was right, as do I. To suggest, as
Shine
does, that my father was in some way mean-spirited is totally unfair. Holding back David’s career was not in the least my
father’s aim. He was extremely proud of his son and nurtured his talent in every way. He was David’s strongest advocate. But
allowing any boy who had just turned fourteen to live by himself so far away without proper provisions being made for him
would have been irresponsible, to say the least.
In David’s case, it would have been particularly inappropriate. He had never been abroad before; he was completely hopeless
in practical matters; and he needed to be looked after, cooked for, and cared for. He was also by that time behaving rather
erratically, although of course we did not know then that these may have been the first signs of a serious mental illness.
My father’s attitude was proved correct: when David did go to London of his own volition four years later, he fell ill and
ended up receiving psychiatric care.
In any case there simply wasn’t enough money available to finance the trip to America. Contrary to what is related in
Shine
, where my father and Mr. Rosen decide that David should have a bar mitzvah as a method of raising money for this trip, David
had already had his bar mitzvah almost a year earlier, when he turned thirteen, the usual age for this ceremony. His bar mitzvah
had nothing to do with “digging for gold,” as Mr. Rosen puts it in
Shine
, in one of several offensive references in the film to Jews or Judaism. My father may not have been an Orthodox Jew himself,
but he still had a strong desire to hold onto the basic tenets of Jewish tradition and to pass them on to his children.
So, with insufficient money forthcoming with which to fund the trip, the whole American proposal inevitably came to nothing.
However, the atmosphere created by the press, even though it had no real basis in fact, had raised David’s hopes sky high.
I remember my father tactfully trying to explain all this to David. But my brother had been so excited at the prospect of
going that he didn’t really take it all in, and, in part at least, blamed his father for the “offer” not materializing—as
though it were my father’s fault that he didn’t have enough money to pay for David to go and live in America.
* * *
After the Isaac Stern episode and its aftermath, the relationship between David and my father became less close. We were still
not sure, however, whether David’s gradual withdrawal from the family wasn’t simply the kind of difficult phase that many
adolescents go through. I was becoming more independent myself at this
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