Wonder

“When given a choice between being right or being kind, choose kind”

Last month, my daughter came home insisting I read a book. She had checked it out of her school library, and read it during her free time at school. She loved it so much, she brought it home and insisted I read it too. The book was Wonder. In spite of my initial hesitation (the last time she insisted I read a book, it was the Wimpy Kid series), I decided to give it a try. When I was done, I was so overcome with emotion, I just went and hugged her, thanking her for bringing the book home for me to read. She was so happy, she handed me another book, Auggie & Me, a must-read for all Wonder fans.

Having read the books, we couldn’t wait for Wonder to release in theaters. We were first in line to watch the film, when it finally released last week. For those of you who haven’t read the book, Wonder is about Auggie Pullman, a ten year old boy with a facial difference, who has been home schooled all his life, and is going to school for the very first time. The story is about Auggie’s survival in his first year at school, from his point of view, and from the eyes of several characters whose lives happen to intersect with his during the course of fifth grade. While I was a little apprehensive of watching the film, because adaptations often ruin a book, I was still excited.

But Wonder is no ordinary book, and neither is the film. The movie stays true to the story (for the most part), helping us connect with Auggie and all the people that surround him, with as much ease as we do, when reading the book. Jacob Tremblay as Auggie Pullman is beyond brilliant. Auggie is not your average child. While he is as normal as any other ten year old, he is also a child who has been through a lot. As a result, he has to deal with many emotions and moods that an average child never has to worry about. Jack portrays all these characteristics of Auggie to perfection. As Via (Auggie’s sister) rightly points out, if the Pullman family is the solar system, then Auggie is their Sun. It is hard being a normal child in a family with a special needs kid. The entire family’s time, energy and attention is spent attending to the needs of the special child, that more often than not the normal child in the family gets neglected. Izabela Vidovic does a great job of portraying Olivia Pullman, the understanding but always feeling left out sister of Auggie Pullman.

With the exception of the abrupt ending of Julian’s behavior (the bullying scenes and the scenes that follow were not as clearly established in the film as they were in the book), and the casting of Charlotte (she just did not fit the description of the girl in the book), I have to say Wonder is a very good adaption of its book. Whether you’ve read the book or not, Wonder is a must watch for everyone.

If there is one thing we all need right now, it is empathy, and Wonder is as good as it gets, when it comes to teaching us about Empathy.

Why I wouldn’t recommend Secret Superstar to everyone

Secret Superstar is without a doubt a great film, and Zaira Wasim as Insia Malik is beyond brilliant. That being said, I don’t think I would recommend this film to children. My young daughter and her friend, were really looking forward to Secret Superstar from the moment the promos for the film were out. They were hooked on the songs from day one, and when they saw that the lead in the film is the same Dangal girl (yes, they are both fans of that film), they made it clear in no uncertain terms that they wanted to watch the film with us. So naturally, when the film was finally out, we were in the theater, in the very first week of its release.

The film started on a very promising note, with young school kids in train having fun, and Insia singing the beautiful Sapne Re. Sadly, that did not last too long. The moment the story shifted to her house, I started feeling uncomfortable. While the story is very realistic, and the actors did a great job of portraying a house riddled with domestic violence, it was very hard to watch. Since it was a PG13 film, I did not take the father’s bit in the trailer too seriously. I just assumed that he was a dad who believed music was a waste of time. I honestly believed it was going to be a nice feel-good inspirational film for kids. While Insia’s journey maybe inspiring,  the father’s treatment of his wife and daughter will definitely leave many people disturbed. My daughter and her friend were definitely disturbed. They could not understand why a father would be so cruel and mean to his wife and daughter. The scene where he makes his children leave the room, so he can beat up their mother, was the most disturbing. While the actual violence is not shown, the emotions on Insia’s face are enough to be traumatized (Zaira definitely deserves a special mention for this scene).

Long story short, I really did not understand the point of making a film called Secret Superstar, which sounds and feels like a great and inspiring PG-13 film, and then have such disturbing scenes. While children who come from happy households are disturbed by the fact that they are such evil parents out there, children coming from abusive households are traumatized by having to relive the horror all over again. It really is  a no-win situation when it comes to children, with this film. So, as great as Secret Superstar is, in terms of performances and music, I really cannot recommend it to anyone who is not an adult.

Last but not the least, as funny as Aamir’s Sexy Baliye was at the end, it was of no help to people who went to watch the film with children. Everyone was rushing out of the theater to prevent the kids from watching it. I actually overheard some children wishing they ended the movie with Insia singing one more song.