Alright, so the story takes us back to 1942. We’ve got a 15-year-old girl named Sara living in Alsace, which is part of unoccupied France at the time. But things start to change as the German soldiers increasingly take over, and people begin getting taken away. Luckily, she’s saved by Julien’s family—a guy her age dealing with polio—someone she didn’t really hang out with before. As time goes on and she hides out with them, Sara and Julien build this really strong friendship.

The movie tries hard to stick closely to the book it’s based on but ends up losing some of its important messages along the way.

Director Marc Forster thought he could ride on the success of Stephen Chbosky’s “Wonder” with this new film adventure. However, connecting it back to that movie starring Julia Roberts and Owen Wilson feels a bit forced if you ask me.

Starting off with a bully being kicked out of school isn’t enough to justify bringing granny Helen Mirren into it, recounting her past as a young Jewish girl during those tough times. The link is weak since both films are based on stories from R.J. Palacio—he wrote “Wonder” and also penned the graphic novel behind this movie.

But here’s where things get shaky: what’s gripping in a book doesn’t always translate well on-screen. Forster should know better considering his experience directing movies like “Christopher Robin” or “The Kite Runner.” He brings an American perspective into it all…, Yes somtimes it’s cool having an outside view can offer something unique too…
This movie takes a real hard look at some French folks who teamed up with the Nazis. It doesn’t shy away from showing how even young people could become pretty intense persecutors, even worse than the Nazis sometimes.

But here’s where it kind of loses its grip: it tosses in some elements that feel more like fairy tales or just don’t really fit the serious vibe. It’s okay to imagine fun scenes like Julien visualizing movies on walls where Sara is hiding. But then there’s this one part—kind of ruins everything’s believability—where wolves suddenly show up. Yeah, real wolves! This and the whole bird-flying-free metaphor stuff water down what could’ve been the story’s heart.

The main point should’ve been about moving past prejudice. Like Sara usually looking down on Julien ’cause he’s got polio, learns how discrimination feels right back at her and starts seeing his struggles differently.

This movie had a shot to give younger audiences something solid to chew over but didn’t quite nail it like it should have.