It’s never a bad time for stories celebrating acts of kindness, but the current news cycle makes it even more appreciated. The story plays out in the new film “White Bird,” opening in theaters Friday: A family in Nazi-occupied France shelters a young Jewish girl who has been stripped of all her friends and family.
German director Marc Forster’s “White Bird” is a beautiful adaptation of RJ Palacio’s graphic novel aimed at young adults. It, too, is perfect for that audience – a story within a story with all the drama of war and young romance wrapped up in it. Let’s not overstate the idea that this is part of some shared cinematic Kindred universe with Julia Roberts and Owen Wilson’s film “Wonder,” which is also based on Palacio’s work.
It is designed in such a way that a grandmother is telling something to her grandson, who is going on the wrong path. Helen Mirren is played as Grandmère or Sarah Blum, a famous artist who opens up to young Julian over dinner one evening about what she went through during the war. Being a neglected rich kid who is in danger of being kicked out of fancy private schools, Julian’s immediate, deep interest in what his grandmother has to say is perhaps the most incredible part of this story, which also involves some deus ex machina wolves. Are. I believe this is the way to go and Mirren is a beautiful narrator.
Ariela Glaser plays young Sarah Blum, who lives a good life in her small French town with educated, professional parents Max and Rose. As the war drags on, she barely notices the changing tides, more concerned with her friends and her cute boy at school. The story goes on to note that she barely paid attention to the classmate who could ultimately save her life: Julian, who walks on crutches and whose father works in the sewers. In other words, not a popular kid. In an awkward moment, the audience and Julian realize that she doesn’t even know his name.
But when the Nazis come to round up the Jewish students at the school, he is there to help her get her family’s property back. Gillian Anderson plays Julian’s mother Vivienne, who is a strong presence but a side character until a devastating scene at the end of the film.
The young actors are very good and settled in their journey of friendship and then first love. They get to know each other and spend time dreaming of a world in which they are not confined to a barn, their imaginations coming to life through dreamy projected images.
“White Bird”, which was to be shot in early 2021, was delayed several times over the past two years. Often, this indicates some kind of quality issue and yet a reluctant release. But that’s not the case here: this is a very finely made film that seems to be stuck in a kind of release limbo that’s only partially related to the strikes.
It’s a bit of a departure from the book – exactly, perhaps, what you might expect from avant-garde historical fiction aimed at young adults. Being a good-natured, simple film that may even move you to tears is no crime against cinema.
“The White Bird,” released in theaters Friday by Lionsgate, has been given a PG-13 rating by the Motion Picture Association for “thematic material, some strong violence and language.” Running time: 120 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.
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