The Wonders
A headstrong girl tests the fragile rules of her isolated beekeeping family when television glamour and a troubled outsider pull her toward the wider world.
Overview
A young girl struggles to uphold her family's traditions while facing the pressures of a changing world.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- wistful
- intimate
- dreamy
- quiet afternoon
- arthouse film night
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the film as a charming, lyrical coming-of-age drama and a quietly effective tribute to a vanishing rural way of life.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Twelve-year-old Gelsomina supervises her younger sisters, retrieves bee swarms, carries hives, and manages the family honey operation.
The family’s beekeeping livelihood is threatened by pesticides, European produce regulations, and the spectacle of a television contest celebrating traditional life.
Gelsomina longs to enter Village Wonders and meet its hostess, pushing against Wolfgang’s strict rules and isolationist worldview.
Wolfgang brings in Martin, a delinquent German boy, and treats the silent adolescent as a possible substitute for the male heir he wanted.
Films like The Wonders, and why
The Spirit of the Beehive
shared intimate coming-of-age drama, rural setting, and tension between family bonds and a changing outside world
Alcarràs
shared contemplative rural drama, child-centered perspective, and sensitivity to disappearing traditional ways of life
Tomboy
shared warm yet melancholic coming-of-age tone, unconventional family dynamics, and semi-magical rural atmosphere
The Tree of Wooden Clogs
shared lyrical Italian rural setting, adolescent self-discovery, and conflict between familial expectations and independence
Movie Details
- Director
- Alice Rohrwacher
- Release Date
- 2014-05-22
- Runtime
- 112 min
- Rating
- 6.8 / 10 (222)
Cast
- Maria Alexandra Lungu
- Alba Rohrwacher
- Sam Louwyck
- Sabine Timoteo
- Agnese Graziani
- Monica Bellucci
- André Hennicke
- Luis Huilca
- Eva Lea Pace Morrow
- Maris Stella Morrow
Common questions
- What is The Wonders about?
- A headstrong girl tests the fragile rules of her isolated beekeeping family when television glamour and a troubled outsider pull her toward the wider world.
- What is The Wonders like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Wonders as measured, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as layered.
- Is The Wonders violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in The Wonders as mild.
- What did critics think of The Wonders?
- Critics broadly praised the film as a charming, lyrical coming-of-age drama and a quietly effective tribute to a vanishing rural way of life.
- Which films are like The Wonders?
- Films with a similar feel include The Spirit of the Beehive, Alcarràs, Tomboy, and The Tree of Wooden Clogs.
- How long is The Wonders?
- The Wonders runs 112 minutes.
