White Bird (marketed with the subtitle A Wonder Story) is a 2023 American coming-of-age period film film directed by Marc Forster from a screenplay by Mark Bomback. It is based on the 2019 graphic novel of the same name by R. J. Palacio. Serving as both a prequel and sequel to Wonder (2017), the film stars Ariella Glaser, Orlando Schwerdt, Bryce Gheisar, Gillian Anderson, and Helen Mirren, with Gheisar reprising his role as Julian from Wonder.
| White Bird | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Marc Forster |
| Screenplay by | Mark Bomback |
| Based on | White Bird: A Wonder Story by R. J. Palacio |
| Produced by |
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| Starring |
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| Cinematography | Matthias Koenigswieser |
| Edited by | Matt Chessé |
| Music by | Thomas Newman |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Lionsgate |
Release dates |
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Running time | 120 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $3 million[2] |
White Bird premiered at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival on July 30, 2023, and it is scheduled to be released in the United States by Lionsgate on October 4, 2024.[3]
Plot
After the events of Wonder, Julian has left Beecher Prep for good. He is visited by his grandmother, Sara, from Paris, who, in response to Julian's reflection about his need to be socially passive in order to fit in at his new school, tells him about her childhood as a young Jewish girl in Nazi-occupied France during World War II.
In 1942, Sara evades being rounded up by the German troops and spends more than one year being hidden by her classmate Julien (one of whose legs is congenitally paralysed by poliomyelitis) in a barn of the house where he lives with his parents. She is instructed never to leave the barn so as not to be discovered by the neighbours suspected of being informants for the Germans. At night, Julien teaches Sara what he has learned at school during the day. Affection between them eventually grows into love.
In 1944 after the liberation of Monte Cassino, Julien is stopped on his way to school at a German checkpoint by the Milice and thrown into the back of a lorry for transportation to a remote camp in the mountains. During an escape attempt by the other prisoners, he is shot dead. At the end of the war, Sara is reunited with her father, but she finds out that her mother has been killed at KZ Auschwitz.
Cast
- Ariella Glaser as Sara Blum, a Jewish girl living in Nazi-occupied France
- Orlando Schwerdt as Julien Beaumier, Sara's polio-lamed classmate, in the barn of whose family Sara hides from the Germans
- Bryce Gheisar as Julian Albans
- Gillian Anderson as Vivienne Beaumier, Julien's mother
- Helen Mirren as Grandmère, a renowned artist
- Patsy Ferran as Mlle Petitjean, Sara and Julien's teacher
- Ishai Golan as Max Blum, Sara's father
- Jem Matthews as Vincent
- Stuart McQuarrie as Pastor Luc, the headmaster of Sara and Julien's school
- Olivia Ross as Rose Blum, Sara's mother
- Jo Stone-Fewings as Jean Paul Beaumier, Julien's father
Production
Development
In October 2019, Lionsgate acquired the rights to R.J. Palacio's White Bird: A Wonder Story. Palacio said, "[t]he team at Lionsgate values artists and storytellers and has been crucial to expanding the fan community surrounding Wonder. They have been enormously supportive as I have been writing White Bird and I could not feel more secure that my new graphic novel is in the right creative hands at the right studio."[4]
The film was produced by Todd Lieberman and David Hoberman from Mandeville Films, with Jeffrey Skoll and Robert Kissel from Participant serving as executive producers. Marc Forster was announced as director, with Mark Bomback writing and acting as executive producer.[5][6]
Casting
In February 2021, it was reported that Helen Mirren, Gillian Anderson, Orlando Schwerdt and Ariella Glaser joined the cast. Bryce Gheisar was confirmed to reprise his role as Julian from the 2017 film Wonder.[7]
Filming
Principal photography commenced in February 2021 in the Czech Republic.[7]
- Locations gallery
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Jungmannovo Square (also known as Jungmann Square after the Czech poet and linguist Josef Jungmann) in Kutná Hora was the setting for filming the scenes of White Bird: A Wonder Story in March 2021. -
Jungmann Square (Template:Lang-cz) in Kutná Hora in March 2021 doubling as Nazi-occupied France.
Release
White Bird: A Wonder Story was initially scheduled for a wide release on September 16, 2022,[8] but was later delayed to October 14, 2022.[9] In September 2022, Lionsgate removed the film from its release schedule.[10] The film, presented as a "sneak preview", premiered at the 43rd San Francisco Jewish Film Festival on July 30, 2023, with a taped introduction by producer Lieberman.[1]
In January 2023, it was announced that White Bird was scheduled to debut in a limited release on August 18, 2023, followed by a wide release on August 25, 2023.[11] However, in July 2023, as a result of the SAG-AFTRA strike, Lionsgate pushed the release to an unspecified date in the fourth quarter of 2023.[12] In December 2023, Lionsgate rescheduled the film for a wide release in the United States on October 4, 2024.[13]
White Bird was released in Italy, Croatia, and Slovenia on January 4, 2024.[3] On January 18, 2024, the film was released in Portugal, followed by its theatrical release in Poland on February 2, 2024 (with box office takings from Polish cinemas making up more than half of the film's worldwide gross revenue as of May 2024).[3]
As of May 5, 2024[update], more than 90% of the film's worldwide revenue originated from two countries: Italy ($845,028) and Poland ($1,257,423).[3]
Reception
Writing for Variety, Dennis Harvey gave White Bird a positive review, saying that "Marc Forster’s film elevates somewhat contrived material with tastefully lyrical craftsmanship" and further adding,[14]
Though the occasional preachy, maudlin or trite note remains, Foster also manages to make “White Bird” less conspicuously conceived for tweens. He arrives at an unhurried yet sufficiently suspenseful pace that engrosses while side-stepping excess melodrama and sentimentality.
Hannah Brown was more reserved in her review for The Jerusalem Post, describing the cast as "compelling" and praising the storyline for its power "to carry the drama", but criticising the film for its "moments of heavy kitsch toward the end" and crediting Helen Mirren with saving White Bird single-handedly from being a much worse movie than it turned out to be in actuality. She concluded,[15]
Despite its flaws, [the film] does not trivialize the Holocaust, and just barely manages to avoid being part of that mini-genre I have named “Feel-Good Holocaust Films.” ... In “White Bird”, at least, it is clear that innocent people, even very cute ones, suffered terribly at the hands of the Nazis and their collaborators, and even paid with their lives. The two likable young leads and Mirren elevate this to a film that does have genuinely touching moments.
References
- ^ a b "White Bird". Jewish Film Institute. Archived from the original on July 31, 2023. Retrieved July 30, 2023.
- ^ "White Bird". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved August 14, 2024.
- ^ a b c d "White Bird". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved May 5, 2024.
- ^ McNary, Dave (October 1, 2019). "Lionsgate Reunes With 'Wonder' Author R.J. Palacio on 'White Bird: A Wonder Story'". Variety. Archived from the original on June 7, 2023. Retrieved June 7, 2023.
- ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (October 29, 2020). "Marc Forster Directing Lionsgate & Mandeville's 'Wonder' Universe Title 'White Bird'". Deadline. Archived from the original on November 1, 2020. Retrieved June 7, 2023.
- ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (April 15, 2021). "Participant To Executive Produce & Co-Finance Lionsgate Mandeville's 'White Bird: A Wonder Story'". Deadline. Archived from the original on June 7, 2023. Retrieved June 7, 2023.
- ^ a b N'Duka, Amanda (February 25, 2021). "Helen Mirren Joins Gillian Anderson In Lionsgate's 'White Bird: A Wonder Story'". Deadline. Archived from the original on April 16, 2021. Retrieved June 7, 2023.
- ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (April 28, 2021). "Lionsgate Dates Samuel L. Jackson's The Protege, Jennifer Lopez's Shotgun Wedding & White Bird: A Wonder Story". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on July 14, 2023. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
- ^ Fuster, Jeremy (January 31, 2022). "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret Set for September Release by Lionsgate". The Wrap. Archived from the original on February 8, 2022. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
- ^ Robbins, Shawn (September 16, 2022). "Long Range Box Office Forecast: Halloween Ends, Plus Don't Worry Darling and Avatar Updates". Boxoffice. Archived from the original on October 7, 2022. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
- ^ Watson, Madalyn (January 20, 2023). "White Bird: A Wonder Story Sets Summer Release Date". Collider. Archived from the original on January 22, 2023. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
- ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (July 20, 2023). "Dirty Dancing Sequel & White Bird Release Dates Move Due to Dual Strikes". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
- ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (December 14, 2023). "Lionsgate's White Bird Flies Back To Theatrical Schedule". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
- ^ Harvey, Dennis (August 4, 2023). "'White Bird' Review: Teen Romance Flowers Amidst Nazi Persecution in a Refined YA Adaptation". Variety. Retrieved March 27, 2024.
- ^ Brown, Hannah (April 6, 2024). "'White Bird': A Holocaust movie saved by Helen Mirren - review". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved May 4, 2024.
