White Bird: A Wonder Story

It’s been a few years since Julian Albans (Bryce Gheisar) was expelled from Beecher Prep. now 15, the young man finds himself divided as to what kind of person wants to be. Coming home from his new school one day, he finds his grandmother Sara (Helen Mirren) visiting from Paris. Sensing Julian’s struggle to figure himself out, Sara decides to tell Julian the story of her childhood as a young Jewish girl in the midst of World War II, and being taken care of by a courageous young man named Julien!

Despite sharing the same author (RJ Palacio), “White Bird” is thematically and narratively different from “Wonder”. Instead of a contemporary, modern-day story regarding the issues/themes of bullying and childhood disability, this is a wartime drama that shows the horrors of ethnic and religious discrimination that was a painful part of our world’s history. The only callbacks to the original movie and story are in the first 10 minutes.

However, from a production standpoint, there’s still a lot to admire here. I have always enjoyed director Marc Forster’s work (“Christopher Robin,” “Finding Neverland”), and thought he would be a great choice for this. And he brings the same level of sincerity, authenticity and whimsy to this as he does those other two productions. The acting performances here are really nice too (Gillian Anderson and Mirren are terrific here), and Thomas Newman does fine work with the score.

The production design and cinematography balance a little whimsy with the dark and grittier side of the story. On the downside, the pacing is too drawn out at times. And, there’s a couple of somewhat outlandish story leaps along the way.

In terms of Biblical messages, the message of kindness shines in a different way in this movie. In the first Wonder, the key message was, “When given the choice between being right and being kind, choose kind.” In this story, that message is re-shaped into something bolder and more mature. This movie suggests that being kind comes from putting others’ needs ahead of our own. It also suggests that kindness can require sacrifice. In essence, it echoes the thinking of John 15:13. And it also made me think about how Jesus’ sacrifice was the ultimate act of kindness for a whole world of sinners who did not deserve it.

The film is rated PG-13, and accurately appropriately so. The film deals with the darkness of Antisemitism from that time period, and, there’s some unsettling moments here. Jews and Julien (who is crippled) are treated cruelly. There’s also moments of violence, including someone being shot in the head just offscreen. Another is killed by wolves (again, just off-screen, but some blood is seen on the body). Prisoners are shot dead on the way to a concentration camp. “Auschwitz” is referenced once and someone’s cruel fate there. One scene shows German sympathizers shooting up a movie theater screening room.

Elsewhere, we hear a little language (one use each of “bulls***”, “b***rd”, and two of “h***” and “oh my g**”). Wine and Prozac are referenced. Two teens kiss at one moment, and they are later seen snuggling (they go no further). One character likes to draw the faces of boys she likes. A few characters lie, but to save others’ lives. In the present day, Julian is invited to go to a Social Justice Rally.

In the end, while I didn’t find “White Bird” to be an instant classic like “Wonder,” it is still a moving and relatively well-made story about the power of kindness and bravery in one of the most difficult times in history. It is restrained for a movie set in its time period, but it does deal with mature subjects that might not be suitable for younger moviegoers. As mentioned before, the PG-13 rating should be taken into consideration here.

However, for parents and older children ready for these themes, “White Bird” is a worthy discussion starter. And it might lead to some great conversations about Biblical themes too.

• Violence: Moderate
• Profane language: Mild
• Vulgar/Crude language: Mild
• Sex: Minor
• Drugs/Alcohol: Minor
• Occult: Minor
• Wokeism: Minor
• Nudity: None

See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.