The Wonders

Unusual setting and an interesting group of characters but the pacing felt uneven; sometimes dragging , sometimes abruptly ending shots and cutting to another character or place.

Such a conventional coming-of-age tale about a girl who rules her family -- as expected, Maria Lungu steals the show with a strong, delicate performance. Near the end, when Maria finds the boy hidden in a cave, Le meraviglie presents a wonderful shot -- these two kids's shadows being projected in the cave's walls, as they dance before a fire. Last shots suggest the family moved on to another place -- to the world the father hates so much --, but it's too bad the plot wakes up so late.

Although unfocused and constantly switching between different character plots and even moods too abruptly, this is an intriguing family drama, with the patriarchal set-up nothing new, yet certainly feels fresh -- watching them work in the bee-farm is kinda fun.

its a goal to be a monica bellucci to some pre-teen

Lost me a bit at times, but overall the atmosphere is great. Rohrwacher has a voice of her own.

(my score is mean)

The Wonders über eine Imker Familie an der Trasimenischen See, ist ein Film, der zwei verschiedene Arten des Filmemachens miteinander verbindet: Zum einen ist The Wonders emotional und intensiv, zum anderen ist es aber auch ein Film, in dem nicht allzu viel passiert. Die Imker Familie ist neu in der Gegend und noch dem modernen urbanen Leben verhaftet... mehr auf cinegeek.de

Poetic, but missing some consistency in the story telling.

An interesting and particularly well-judged family drama. Admittedly, the most interesting parts are that the family keep bees and manufacture honey in the Italian countryside, and that you have to spend ages working out who is natively German and who is Italian. But in the awkward teenager Gelsomina, we get a fascinating protagonist, shy but curious about the world outside her father's farm. The director takes a look at family relationships and gender, in a compellingly naturalistic film style.

What a strange movie, about a family of beekeepers going on some sort of an Etruscan-themed show. I'll resist the namedropping, but suffice it to say it's very old-fashioned European filmmaking to be made in 2014. I liked it, and if you feel like something mellow and strange, you might too.