The Wonders

2014 1h 52m IT

👍

6.8

SOLID

★6.8TMDB · 222

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In the Tuscan countryside, a family of traditional honey farmers struggles to make ends meet. The household consists of only daughters—four of them—led by the eldest, Gelsomina, who takes on the responsibilities of the family. When a small boy is sent to stay with them for rehabilitation, their routine is disrupted. As financial troubles threaten their home, Gelsomina sees an opportunity in a reality TV contest searching for 'Italy’s Most Traditional Family.' Willing to expose their secluded life for the prize money, she clashes with her father’s rigid ways in a bid to secure their future.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Maria Alexandra Lungu
Gelsomina
Alba Rohrwacher
Angelica
Sam Louwyck
Wolfgang
Sabine Timoteo
Cocò
Agnese Graziani
Marinella
Monica Bellucci
Milly Catena
André Hennicke
Adrian
Luis Huilca
Martin

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Alice Rohrwacher
Writers: Alice Rohrwacher
Languages: German, Italian, French
Countries: Germany, Italy, Switzerland

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 12 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: German, Italian, French.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 3 countries: Germany, Italy, Switzerland.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Alice Rohrwacher, shot by Hélène Louvart. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Marco Spoletini shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Maria Alexandra Lungu and Alba Rohrwacher and Sam Louwyck carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt3044244 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Alice Rohrwacher directs. Hélène Louvart behind the camera. Marco Spoletini cuts. Produced in Germany, Italy, Switzerland. Dialogue in German, Italian, French.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 12 years ago.
2Dialogue crosses 3 languages: German, Italian, French.
3International production across 3 countries: Germany, Italy, Switzerland.
4Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
5Directed by Alice Rohrwacher, shot by Hélène Louvart. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Editor Marco Spoletini shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Maria Alexandra Lungu and Alba Rohrwacher and Sam Louwyck carry the top of the cast.
8IMDB entry: tt3044244 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 9 themes, including "sibling relationship", "parent child relationship", "italy", "teenage girl".

The technical file

Cinematography: Hélène Louvart
Editing: Marco Spoletini
Production design: Emita Frigato
Costume design: Loredana Buscemi
Runtime: 112 min · 1h 52m
Status: Released
Original language: IT
IMDB: The Wonders (2014)

Awards

Cannes Film Festival Grand Prix

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Alice Rohrwacher

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

Reno2015-08-26
★ 8.5/10
Being a child of a farmer and the rural life. I begin by saying it was a sweet little Italian movie. It is not here to entertain you, but to give an alarming message. The world's human population is growing rapidly, but within, the farmer's counts are shrinking. Hunger will be one of the future's biggest concerns to deal. This film is about a farmer family that depicted from the perspective of what's causing for the people like them to disappear. There are a very few movies on this theme, in that, all the farmer's movies won't illustrate harvesting and hardworks rather focuses on romance, revenge and other subplots. I think this was true to what it was promised and you would feel glad watching this if you are capable to realise the facts. A 12 years old girl, Gelsomina, with her parents and three younger sisters lives in a rural Italy. They are the bee farmers, living with a strict order of the life, especially when it comes to the profession. And this story was told from the Gelsomina's viewpoint about everything she and her family goes through. After her father who got no son, she has to carry on the family's tradition to the next generation. She's absolutely on it as she's naturally gifted and stronger than anyone in the family, including her father who's no match for her. Moreover, she's already running the family with moral. But when they reach a crossroad, some unexpected decisions have to be made which is basically the remaining portion. "You would need a slave. Instead of 4 daughters." I can't say it is a must see, because it is still a movie and looks for an opportunity in between to amuse you. Either, it is not afraid to unfold the reality, that's the best of this film. It had an amazing cast, but I don't know anyone of them, of course, except Monica Bellucci in a cameo. Cinematography was great, they were not trying to seduce the viewers with the beautiful countryside scenic rather presenting as it is. Beside the film let you know about bee keeping and honey extraction. It is not an easy job, thinking bees do all the work and we just snatch it using protection costume. But surrounding environment and all matters. There's no CGI, some of the dangerous scenes were shot under the guidance of the real pros with a specialised documentary crew. It proves a coming-of-age story can also be told in this manner. Urbanising, hunters, tourism influx, name it... all these are affecting peace in the rural life. This film covers most of the factors in a simple fashion, It was not that easy for everyone to understand the end part as it contained two way meaning, literal and metaphor. One is a report card for the actuality and the other one is a cinematic conclusion. Overall, it tackles on the matured contents and children are the part of it, especially the last quarter all about them. And finally, everyone won't desire for a movie like this, but IMO certainly worth spending time for it. 8/10

Production companies