QUICK AND DIRTY: LIVE FROM CANNES

Thirty-year-old French actress-turned-filmmaker Josephine Japy based her debut feature on her very own real-life experience with her younger sister Bertille, who has a severe disability with symptoms akin to autism. The Wonderers portrays an upper-middle class family of four in the wealthy French Riviera: Madeleine (Melanie Laurent) and Gilles (Pierre-Yves Cardinal) have two daughters: 17-year-old, intelligent and chirpy Marion (Angelina Woreth) and 15-year-old, disabled Bertille (Sarah Pachoud). She is unable to talk, eat or look after herself, plus she experiences occasional convulsions. Her precise condition is a still a mystery, with multiple doctors consistently scrambling for a diagnosis. Rett Syndrome was once a possibility, but that is now uncertain.

Despite their comfortable house and finances, this family’s existence isn’t as breezy as the local weather. Madeleine and Marion have to tussle with their feelings of guilt, while Gilles comes across as more pragmatic. Is Bertille’s condition a consequence of neglect? Did they do something wrong at all? And could they be doing anything differently in order to care for the special needs relative? Not all questions yield an answer. A doctor reassures Madeleine that such sentiments are entirely natural, and that it would have been unusual if these doubts did not repeatedly haunt the family, in what’s probably the film’s most enlightening scene.

The narrative arc of The Wonderers is relatively straightforward: Madeleine tries her best to be the perfect mum, Gilles prioritises his career, and Marion is split between living her adolescent life – with a handsome new boyfriend, and exciting school friends – and helping mum to care for Bertille.

At times, the difficulties are such that the family seems to secretly wish a short life for Bertille (while still doing their utmost to vouch for her wellbeing). The prospect of finding her real diagnosis and life expectancy becomes scary. Should Marion be prepared to devote her entire life to her younger sister? Is abandoning her an option? It is a fairly safe assumption that the filmmaker asked herself these questions, and it is very honest that her film proxy should do the same.

While candid and heartwarming, The Wonderers fails to elicit profound emotions. This is a movie that evokes empathy, but not mimicry. In other words, viewers never get the sensation that they are stepping into the shoes of the family, and instead remain distant and passive observers. There are no particularly strong scenes, and the final sequence is a little hackneyed. All in all, the movie lacks vigour, audacity and inventiveness. Some of the performances are lukewarm, and able-bodied Pachoud isn’t entirely convincing in the lead. A film with its heart in the right place, however mostly unmemorable.

The Wonderers just premiered in a Special Screening event at the Cannes International Film Festival.