White Bird (2023)
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A modern-day student seeks redemption by listening to his grandmother's harrowing tale of survival in Nazi-occupied France.
The story
Several years after being expelled from Beecher Prep for his cruelty towards Auggie Pullman, 15-year-old Julian Albans has been transferred to Union Tech and Yates Academy. He is visited by his grandmother, from Paris; in response to Julian's reflection about having to be socially passive to fit in at his new school, she recounts her childhood as a young Jewish girl in Nazi-occupied France during World War II. In 1942, a then-frivolous Sara Blum lives with her parents, Max and Rose, in the zone libre of France. Late that year, the Nazis extend their occupation, oppression of the Jewish citizens escalates, and the Blums start making plans to leave the country.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Several years after being expelled from Beecher Prep for his cruelty towards Auggie Pullman, 15-year-old Julian Albans has been transferred to Union Tech and Yates Academy. He is visited by his grandmother, from Paris; in response to Julian's reflection about having to be socially passive to fit in at his new school, she recounts her childhood as a young Jewish girl in Nazi-occupied France during World War II. In 1942, a then-frivolous Sara Blum lives with her parents, Max and Rose, in the zone libre of France. Late that year, the Nazis extend their occupation, oppression of the Jewish citizens escalates, and the Blums start making plans to leave the country. Sara evades a surprise Gestapo roundup at her school. She gains maturity while spending over a year being hidden with the help of her classmate Julien Beaumier (whose leg is paralyzed as a result of poliomyelitis). Julien's parents, Vivienne and Jean Paul, conceal Sara in a barn next to their house. The Beaumiers tell Sara that she must never go outside, lest she be discovered by their neighbors, whom they suspect of being Gestapo or Milice informers. Each night, Julien teaches Sara what he learned at school that day. The affection between them eventually grows into love. In 1944, after the liberation of Monte Cassino, Julien is arrested by the Milice at a checkpoint on his way to school and transported to a remote camp in the mountains. During an escape attempt by other prisoners, Julien is shot dead. After the war, Sara is reunited with her father, Max, but learns that her mother, Rose, was killed at Auschwitz. Some time later, Max accepts a new job in Paris. He and Sara move there, but she makes sure to preserve her friendship with the Beaumiers and visit them often. Back in the present, Julian, moved by his grandmother's story, decides to make amends with his past and become a better person.
- First release year
- 2024
- Runtime (minutes)
- 121
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Marc Forster
- Writers
- Mark Bomback · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Ariella Glaser; Orlando Schwerdt; Bryce Gheisar · Julian Albans; Gillian Anderson; Helen Mirren
- Genres
- war drama
- Themes
- kindness; cruelty; forgiveness; sacrifice
- Tone and mood
- solemn; optimistic; lyrical
- Setting
- France during World War II and the present day
- Premise and plot tags
- spin-off; prequel; sequel; war drama
- Source material / true-story basis
- 2019 graphic novel by R. J. Palacio
- Franchise connections
- Wonder
- Content notes
- Holocaust
- Reception
- The film received positive reviews from critics, though some noted moments of heavy kitsch and mixed-to-average scores on Metacritic.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 54 · scale: 100 · review count: 14
- Production trivia
- The film was presented as a 'sneak preview' at the 43rd San Francisco Jewish Film Festival.; Principal photography commenced in February 2021 in the Czech Republic.; Lionsgate acquired the rights to the graphic novel in October 2019.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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