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    The Wonders

    Reviewed by
    pietroantoni@

    " Le Meraviglie " took the GRAND PRIX or the second most important prize at Cannes 2014, the Palme d'Or being the grand winner. This Italian film by Alice Rohrwacher was the only Italian entry at Cannes 2014, so this is a major achievement, a very big win! It might be of some use to note that A. R., the director is half Italian and half German and she comes from a background of beekeeping which is of importance in this film. This is only her second film. It is a film I have wanted to see for almost a year especially as my roots are Italian and I understand this world very well!

    Le Meraviglie is a film hard to categorize as it has so many things going for it and it deals with many important matters that are filmed in different styles, so to speak. It won't be giving anything away to state that this rural family story has at its heart a 12 year old elder sister, Gelsomina, a tough cookie, and three younger sisters. With mom and dad, the film closely observes a family of bee-keepers who fight to preserve a traditional way of rural life. THIS IS MERELY THE PREMISE OF THE FEATURE, ONLY THE VERY TIP OF THE ICEBERG!

    Some might call the story rather flimsy with not too much meaning and just a clutch of emotions, but that is very wrong! The film can be viewed as a coming of age narrative, a very strong commentary on the passing or slow disappearance of the Italian agricultural tradition, but it also has a lot to say on contemporary society and how it can be taken as a negative. I believe it's important to note that though The Wonders is very real in its Italian setting and occupation of the family, REALISM is not necessarily the main focus of the director. The film has definite elements of neo-realism, but there is also a magical quality about the realism that can be viewed as spiritual or fantastical. The entire film seems to hover between dream and reality.

    This becomes especially evident as we pull back somewhat from this agricultural way of life and meet the only actor that will possibly be known to North American audiences, MONICA BELLUCCI and her role as some sort of dream maker. I use this term as I believe the young Gelsomina views her in that manner. One can't say much more without revealing factual material about the film, a film that has its funny moments, its dramatic ones as well as those that lie in a very special place, the mind or heart of the viewer. Experience the film for yourself without any outside influences. That would be an enormous mistake. The film takes one on a pretty exceptional journey, as it were. Take the journey and discover the magic of Le Meraviglie.

    8
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    pietroantoni@  27.4.2015 age: 36-49 14,551 reviews

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