The Wonders (Alice Rohrwacher)
Italy • 1h 51m
Directed by Alice Rohrwacher • Drama • With Alba Rohrwacher, Maria Alexandra Lungu, Monica Bellucci • 2014 • 111 minutes
The Wonders is an enchanting drama centered around a family of beekeepers who are struggling to make ends meet on their farm nestled deep in the Italian countryside. While the seemingly bucolic landscape and lifestyle harkens back to another era (the film itself is evocative of such European classics as Victor Erice’sSpirit of the Beehiveand Fellini’sNights of Cabiria),the story takes place very much in the present, something which comes into sharp focus when a reality TV show (featuring a host played by Monica Bellucci) arrives in town intent on showcasing the family. At once beautiful, intimate, and completely transporting, Rohrwacher’s second feature (her first,Corpo Celeste, premiered in Cannes in 2011) followed up its Cannes win by playing such prestigious showcases as the New York Film Festival, the London Film Festival, AFI Fest, and International Film Festival Rotterdam.
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