Wonder-less

Ah, the world of foreign film, wherein we find ourselves nonplussed by societal pressures which practically dictate we must enjoy the work simply for its seemingly exotic nature. But really, must we? Italian filmmaker Alice Rohrwacher's 2014 movie, The Wonders (which makes its way to the CCA on Dec. 11) raises this very question in each and every mind-numbingly boring scene. The tale follows the trials and tribulations of an Etruscan family of beekeepers who struggle from the fringes of an advancing world, which appears ready to either marginalize or forget them altogether. Though there is no main character in the traditional sense, the closest we have is 14-year-old Gelsomina (Maria Alexandra Lungu), a plain young woman stuck somewhere between familial/work responsibilities and her approaching womanhood.

When a reality television program sets up shop near the family farm and promises to award the best agricultural product with money and exposure, Gelsomina must convince her father, Wolfgang, played in a bafflingly agro fashion by Sam Louwyck, that the times they are a-changing, and in order to survive, they must adapt, with participation in the reality show being a great first step. Wolfgang hates the idea and fears both progress and notoriety. He is a jerk.

Meanwhile, the family apiary is dangerously outdated, the local crop duster uses a weed killer that also harms bees, a troubled young boy named Martin (Luis Huilca), who refuses to speak, comes to live with them in exchange for a tax credit and, as if that weren't enough, the whole family regards Gelsomina as a perverted kind of matriarch. This could almost be construed as the central conflict of The Wonders if only something, anything, ever happened. Rather than fully examining any one area of rich storytelling potential—be it the young girl aching for a life that isn't about bees, the mysteriously mute Martin's backstory or the stark differences between the faux-glamor of the reality show and the authentically rustic people of the region—the whole affair amounts to little more than a slow-moving portrait of how everything sucks when you're coming of age and your dad is kind of mean.

Those who wish to convince their friends that they're worldly, cultured students of international cinema might find a great title to namedrop in their quest for manufactured highbrow tastes, but the rest of us are much better off just renting a cooler movie like Fellini's Amarcord; at least there's nudity in that.

The Wonders
Center for Contemporary Arts,
NR, 110 min.

Santa Fe Reporter