Marvel - DVD

Movie: 10-year-old August Auggie Pullman (Jacob Tremblay) is smart, funny and good-natured, has loving parents (Julia Roberts, Owen Wilson) and a sister Via (Izabela Vidovic) to go through thick and thin with. Sounds like the perfect childhood? Not for Auggie, as a rare genetic defect has left his face completely disfigured. So far he has been home-schooled and only ventures outside hidden under his astronaut helmet. But all that is about to change, because the boy is finally going to lead a normal life and meet other children. Although he is afraid, Auggie is persuaded to go to a normal school class - without his astronaut helmet. But at first he remains an outsider at school, constantly being gawked at. But then he makes his first friends - but will they be able to last in everyday life?

The film adaptation of R. J. Palacios` acclaimed debut novel Wonder is itself a small wonder. The touching plea for courage, tolerance and friendship managed to gross over $300 million worldwide on a relatively small budget and drew over 1 million viewers to cinemas in Germany alone. Of course, the production is highly manipulative and presses wherever it can on the tear gland. But somehow the whole thing works very well. The film is simply beautiful and gives its audience a wonderful feeling of happiness. Particularly played by Jacob Tremblay (Room), but also by the other young actors and actresses, as well as by the professionals Julia Roberts and Owen Wilson very well, the film, infused with quiet humor, convinces especially on a dramaturgical level.

because the story is not only told from Auggie's point of view. Rather, the narrative perspective changes again and again. Sometimes it is the little boy who lets the viewer share his fears, hopes and joys, then it is his sister Via who gets to tell how she deals with the fact that all her parents' attention is focused on her brother. Then it's Via's once best friend, who just seemed very shallow, who reveals why she's changed so much. And Jack, Auggie's first real boyfriend, is also given his own story arc.

By telling the events from different perspectives, the characters can be portrayed in a much more complex way than it initially appears, which the film absolutely gains from on an emotional level as well. Sure, it's often laid on pretty thick. And especially towards the end, everything is viewed through rose-coloured glasses, suggesting that everyone - especially all children - are good, tolerant and open-minded people at heart. Oh, how nice it would be if that were the case in reality. But in the cinema it's allowed to be like that - after all, Wunder is not a documentary, but a very, very nice fairy tale that wants to give its viewers a nice message along the way: it's always worth looking behind the facade.

So if you can overlook a little bit of kitsch and permanent pressing on the tear gland and just want to be told a beautiful story that provides a comforting feeling in the heart area, this miracle can be more than recommended. Absolutely worth seeing!

Picture + Sound: The DVD presents the film in good picture and sound quality. The visuals are convincing with good overall sharpness and an engaging color scheme that is done in very warm tones. Even smaller details come out very well in many scenes thanks to the high overall sharpness. Overall, however, the whole thing presents itself rather restrained, which also applies to the audio, which presents a very authentic soundscape with powerfully mixed dialogue, but only makes very subtle use of the surround channels. This is very coherent, but also appropriately unspectacular for such a story. Good.

Extras: For an audio commentary, director Stephen Chbosky, a successful young adult author himself, has teamed up with book writer R. J. Palacios. Chbosky, who previously adapted his own novel Maybe Better Tomorrow for the screen, talks with Palacios about the story, the changes made for the film version and, of course, the cast and the filming. In addition to the commentary, though, the DVD has a few video extras to offer.

Let's get started with a short promo featurette Wonderful Resolutions (approx. 2 mins), followed by another about the children in the film (approx. 13 mins). The centerpiece, however, is a decent making of (approx. 33 min.). The most interesting aspect here is definitely the part about the elaborate transformation of Jacob Tremblay into Auggy and the difficulties that a small growth spurt of the young actor brought during the filming. Worth watching!

Conclusion: Wonder is cheesy and manipulative - but also simply heartbreakingly beautiful. In Germany alone, over 1 million moviegoers have been moved to tears by the bestselling film adaptation. The DVD convinces not only with a good audiovisual realization, but also with a Making of worth seeing. For this there is quite clearly one: Absolutely recommendable!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp