White Bird: A Wonder Story, a prequel/sequel to Wonder, flashes back to events taking place in Nazi-occupied France during World War II.

“They hate us because they can’t see us. As long as we shine our light, we win.” – Max Blum (Ishai Golan)

Max Blum’s quote isn’t the only quote in the film that stood out. However, it’s the one that led me to pause and jot it down. Towards the end, the older Sara Blum (Helen Mirren) quotes the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King: “Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only the light can do that.” She goes onto say, “Now this is what my father means. We must–all of us–use the light within ourselves to stop the injustices of today. For only then can we be certain that the darkness of the past will never be repeated and the ghosts gave their lives to defy it, did so for a brighter tomorrow.”

As it says in Psalms 97:11: :א֖וֹר זָרֻ֣עַ לַצַּדִּ֑יק וּלְיִשְׁרֵי־לֵ֥ב שִׂמְחָֽה. According to Chabad, the English transliteration is as follows: “A light is sown for the righteous, and for the upright of heart, joy.” To which Rashi writes: “A real sowing is prepared to grow for them.” All that is to say one of the sayings in Judaism is that we are to be a light unto the nations. This is a saying that goes back to Isaiah 42:6. I can go on and on about light and what it represents in Judaism or I can discuss the film.

As the film’s title implies, this is the next chapter in the Wonder story. Julian Albans (Bryce Gheisar) is the only returning character. He’s now attending a new school because of his previous expulsion for bullying Auggie Pullman in the previous film. And yet, some things don’t change. Enter his grandmother, Sara Blum (Helen Mirren), to teach him a life lesson. This is where the film starts flashing back to the 1940s shortly after the Nazis began to occupy France. The Germans started ordering Jews out of public life before rounding them up altogether. Sara (Ariella Glaser, as a teenager) gets lucky that another student, Julien Beaumier (Orlando Schwerdt), hides her in his family’s barn. Julien suffers from polio and because of this, it’s only a matter of time before the Nazis go after him, assuming they don’t find out his family his hiding Sara.

Julien’s parents, Jean Paul (Jo-Stone Fewings) and Vivienne (Gillian Anderson), risk their lives to do the right thing. Every day after school, he teaches her what he learned. Sara invites Julien to join her in the car and they soon imagine themselves going on many adventures. At no point do any of the fantastical moments take us out of the film. In fact, they lend something to the escapism that probably helped people survive the Holocaust while hiding in isolation. At the same time, you cannot help but feel for Sara with what she is going through. She has no idea if she’ll ever see her parents again. What we do know is that she’ll survive the Holocaust and that Julien is the namesake for her grandson. Through learning his grandmother’s story, Julian is able to learn redemption.

Marc Forster could not have done a better job in his direction of the film. Of course, I must credit David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman for helping bring the film to the big screen. What’s hard to believe is that filming took place in early 2021 when so many were still living in isolation. The film team takes advantage of everything that Prague has to offer and yes, this even includes doubling for New York locations. Perhaps most interestingly is the decision to shoot in both film and digital. A small international release took place in January but the film is finally coming out in the US. Of course, it’s coming out during what has been a very tough period for many, myself included. As the film shows, somethings don’t change–we’re still dealing with the virus that is antisemitism. We must be able to defeat hate once and for all!

The film was made in honor of a number of people, no doubt connected to filmmakers in some way. They also dedicate the film in honor of all those who fought and perished in the Alsace region during the Holocaust. May their memories be for a blessing.

Like Wonder before it, White Bird shows that we should always choose kindness.

DIRECTOR: Marc Forster
SCREENWRITER Mark Bomback
CAST: Ariella Glaser, Orlando Schwerdt, Bryce Gheisar, with Gillian Anderson and Helen Mirren, Patsy Ferran, Ishai Golan, Jem Matthews, Stuart McQuarrie, Olivia Ross, Jo-Stone Fewings

Lionsgate will release White Bird: A Wonder Story in theaters on October 4, 2024. Grade: 4/5

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