Wendy is a fantasy adventure film directed by Benh Zeitlin who also directed Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012) who successfully won 4 nominations at the Academy Awards. Like Beasts, Wendy also featured several unknown child players, namely Devin France, Yashua Mack, Gage Naquin, and Gage Naquin. The audience’s expectations are undoubtedly high, considering the previous work of filmmakers. Is Wendy able to give more expectations? One thing is clear, unlike Beasts, this time, Wendy is not an easy story to digest.
Once upon a time, Wendy was a little girl who lived in a small town in the south. He lives with his mother and two twin brothers in their little restaurant, which is right next to the railroad track. One night, Wendy saw a little kid running on a train car that was running. Out of curiosity, Wendy jumped onto the train, followed by her two sisters. They were taken to a unique place, far away on the opposite island where they would never grow old.
The idea of the story is interesting, which seems a metaphor from the story of Neverland (Peter Pan) which of course we are very familiar. However, one very frustrating thing is an absurd story. This film is not for children. Guaranteed, even adults will have difficulty reading the film. Almost all the dialogues are spoken poetically, whose meaning is not easily understood. On the opposite, the message of the film is quite simple.
Besides the absurd story of the film, there is no doubt. This film is played by some unknown little stars who play extraordinary. These children player have above average talent and can play very naturally. I can’t imagine if they were playing in a regular drama, the results would be extraordinary. They all seemed to be used to the camera. It’s not easy, acting with dialogue like what they do.
With a fantastic visualization of settings, Wendy is a unique adaptation of the “Peter Pan” story with all its absurdity to convey a simple message. Such a magnificent volcano setting and long train cars certainly have symbolic motifs. The Peter Pan story, telling us always to have a cheerful and happy soul like children. Instead, Wendy asks us to accept the reality that we will grow up and face many problems. This film is not intended for children but adults. Are they ready to release their children to achieve their dreams in their way?
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