“White Bird” is a sequel to the hit 2017 film Wonder. The movie follows the bully from Wonder listening to his grandma tell a story about her experience as a Jewish girl during the Holocaust. To give my full opinion on the movie there are scenes with heavy spoilers I will discuss. All that to say proceed at your own risk if you have not seen the movie.
Anyone who knows that this movie is a sequel to Wonder, and especially people who saw the trailer might think that the connection to Wonder is unnecessary and is tacked on solely to sell more tickets, but I am pleased to report that is not the case. One might be inclined to think the story is about Sara’s experiences during the Holocaust, but the movie really is about an older Sara recounting her experiences during the holocaust. This might seem like a meaningless distinction, but it means that the emotional center of the movie is not the connection between Sara and Julian, but rather about the connection between Sara and her grandson and how the story affects them both. Another benefit this brings is the narration by Sara, which is never intrusive, but keeps the pacing and plot tight.
The biggest problems with the movie are the absurd deus ex machina at the end, the child actors, and the bad CGI. Child actors are always a toss-up and some of them do not exactly land in this movie. While the main boy in the modern day (also named Julian) does a good job, both Julian and Sara’s actors deliver their lines with a lot of vocal fry. Young Sara’s actress also do es not really portray the fear and uncertainty of her situation very well. Aside from these issues they turn in decent enough performances to keep the audience invested. The problem with the deus ex machina is much harder to overlook. In the climax of the movie Sara runs from a Hitler youth soldier who is chasing her through the forest with a gun. After he catches up to her, he has his gun pointed directly at her and she has nowhere to run. Suddenly some wolves in the forest show up and maul him to death, but inexplicably leave Sara alone. This scene is by far the dumbest part of an otherwise well-scripted movie. A final minor complaint is that there are a few scenes with computer graphics and they do not look good. In particular there is one scene of a train that looks like it was taken directly from The Polar Express. Overall, however, these complaints are minor and do not take that much from the experience.
To move on to the good, the movie is great overall. Outside of the two child actors, whose performances are still passable, performances are excellent across the board. The story is tightly scripted, and it does not pull any punches. The use of lighting in the film is stellar setting the tone for every scene perfectly. The cinematography is fine but not special in any way. The movie does not have a lot of specific goods but is overall great.
White Bird has a few issues holding it back, but it is still an excellent movie overall. It is better, and, surprisingly, less ham-fisted in its messages than its predecessor, Wonder. White Bird is definitely worth the time it takes to watch.
