PG-13 | 2h 1m | Drama, Holocaust | 2024
“White Bird: A Wonder Story,” directed by Marc Forster (“Finding Neverland” and “Christopher Robin”), is a World War II story, akin to “The Diary of Anne Frank.”
The “Wonder” series continues with Julian (Bryce Gheisar), a boy who’s been struggling after being expelled from his former school for bullying. But this movie is really about Julian’s grandmother, Grandmère (Helen Mirren).
To help change her grandson’s life, she finally reveals to him her own courageous story about her youth in Nazi-occupied France. Her younger self, Sara (Ariella Glaser), a Jewish girl, was helped by polio-stricken, German classmate Julien (Orlando Schwerdt). He and his family hid Sara from the Nazis during Hitler’s occupation.
Before the crisis, Julien was shunned and bullied by the other students, even Sara herself. There’s a close call at school—the Jewish students are summoned from class and instructed to hide. With storm troopers hot on their heels, Julien helps Sara make a harrowing escape, trudging miles through the freezing sewers. He knows the route since his father works in the sewer system.
Julien volunteers to hide Sara in his family’s deserted barn. It’s got rats running around, bats hanging in the rafters, and a hole in the roof, through which a white dove peers curiously, every now and again.
The two create a magical barn-world, while the boy’s empathetic parents Vivienne (a wonderful Gillian Anderson) and Jean Paul Beaumier (Jo Stone-Fewings) risk everything to keep her safe.
Sara’s artistic talent is a source of solace for her and Julien, and this emphasis on creativity as a beacon of hope is a compelling addition to the film’s themes, especially when they turn an old car into a make-believe movie theater. In the car’s interior, they imagine the windshield as a movie screen and watch movies together solely by improvising stories and vacation trips, and letting their vivid imaginations run wild.
Soon a budding romance starts between Sara and Julien. As the days turn into months, his visits to her in the barn (as well as his taking it upon himself to tutor her by relaying the day’s school lessons) become the only thing keeping her sane.
Performances
Ariella Glaser, whose features, voice, and manner of speaking bear a keen resemblance at times to actress Sydney Sweeney, gives a breakout performance. It’s a role featuring innocence, vulnerability, and strength in the face of the harsh realities of war.
As the gentle, courageous, and compassionate Julien, Orlando Schwerdt brings a quiet intensity that makes his connection to Sara feel tender and authentic. Their performances are believable and emotionally charged.
Overall
Despite a few missteps—such as the final act which features a bit of slightly heavy-handed speechifying, as well as a fairly ridiculous 11th-hour, bad CGI deus ex machina plot twist that feels out of place in an otherwise solid narrative—“White Bird” successfully grounds audiences in a historical setting that stresses the power of maintaining kindness in the face of hatred.
It successfully avoids trivializing Holocaust horrors, while leaning toward a more accessible, if not exactly feel-good narrative. The Holocaust has long been a genre unto itself. While “White Bird: A Wonder Story” isn’t on the level of a “Schindler’s List,” it’s a movie that families can watch together, while remaining surprisingly, potently tragic.
It offers an understanding of the devastation and cruelty of the Third Reich. But the fact that the uplifting message is ultimately that of human decency, hope, courage, resilience, and above all, kindness—told in ways meant to reach young people—is a form of service.
