Le meraviglie

I didn't expect a similar plot. But the plot itself it not the important part of this movie. The Cannes Festival have create some interest about this little incredible surprise, and it worth entirely the attention. It is all about life. Filmed in a very strange and unusual location, a farm in a poor area (Tuscany, but could be everywhere). About a very strange and unusual family (the center of it is a young teenager, Gelsomina by a unbelievable in her great acting Maria Alexandra Lungu), and a very strange business (honey and bees). But all these unusual choices results in a so strong, so sweet, so touching, little masterpiece. We feel fully involved, interested, part of this world that is, in fact, the world: love, young expectation, economic difficulties, pollution, family affairs, all is inside, but with no drama because the look used in this opera is a colored one, full of the hope of young people.

I just finished watching this film and I must say that the naturalistic style is very well done in this one. There is a certain tension in the air, even tough nothing happens most of the time on the exteral world but everything is going on inside their heads. The idea of everyday life of people who are anonymous is there, and how that may become source material of appreciated ruins with what they leave behind is in the same vein as La Chimera. There is a certain charm of the italian countryside that becomes evident and I would thoroughly recommend it for anyone who loved La Chimera and needs more context on the subjects that this director loves to explore.

The Wonders is really a beautiful film. There is great cinematography and interesting shots, meaningful themes to ponder, and an interesting story, but I wonder if it isn't a bit too understated. The director's more meandering and whimsical style won't be for everyone and I feel like the beats of the story could have been punched in a little bit more, because afterwards I'm left pondering about many interesting ideas the film only briefly touched upon.

A candid but still rather mystical vision of agrarian life.

We get a strong and very believable depiction of a family that lives in each other's pockets and life is just working and hoping you don't mess anything up.

Then a glimpse of glamour emerges and that basically fuels the plot. The characterization is simple but effective and I was quite on edge for one scene (you'll know it when you see it).

Ultimately it's a celebration of the mundane struggle where if nothing else you have your family but that doesn't mean it doesn't have its moments of strange images that really stay with you.

The inner and hidden emotions of adults, wrote Nathaniel Hawthorne, are often revealed through how their children are acting. The life of a family of beekeepers in the central Italian countryside reveals the truth and magic of Hawthorne's words. Despite the brash, impulsive and abrasive outward behavior of the family patriarch, Wolfgang, the household composed of four daughters and a couple of guest workers functions smoothly and efficiently. This is due mostly to the oldest daughter, twelve year old Gelsomina. Gelsomina is reserved, quiet and caring like a queen bee and the family life secretly revolves around her.

There is potential to disrupt the hive. When the family is taking a break and swimming in a natural area of warm, volcanic springs, they run into a television crew featuring local culinary wonders. The star and host of the show, played by Monica Bellucci, takes a liking to Gelsomina. Gelsomina foresees a chance for her family, honey and their bees to shine by appearing in the show and winning money to help support themselves. Wolfgang sees only trouble. For him there are things that money cannot buy. Father and daughter may have more in common than is readily apparent.

This serene and unhurried film is an antidote to the shallow, predictable and emotionless Hollywood slop. It is amazing the way the life of the family mirrors that of the bees, and how they depend on each other. The actors and the film crew do a wonderful job of keeping the story flowing, or buzzing. I felt like I was part of the family and the hive of bees, and not merely watching them on screen. Other wonders of the film include interesting and unique characters and a variable, unstructured plot in which viewers can choose their own meanings.