Attention nugget! The new Wes Anderson film available on Netflix is a little gem of creativity and wonder. Discover “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar”, adapted from the short story by Roald Dahl.
What is it about ?
In this adaptation of Roald Dahl’s famous short story, a rich man discovers the existence of a guru capable of seeing without his eyes and sets out to master this gift to cheat at the game.
The Little Wonder of Wes Anderson
The world of Roald Dahl is highlighted by Wes Anderson who adapts some of his short stories into films for Netflix, which acquired the Roald Dahl Story Company, managing the rights to the Roald Dahl catalog since 2021, after a partnership started three years earlier between the streaming service and its heirs, for almost 700 million dollars!
The first short story to be transposed to the screen, The Marvelous Story of Henry Sugar is adapted into a medium-length film lasting 37 minutes! And the choice of this format is judicious to honor the story written by Roald Dahl without diminishing it or stretching it excessively. Wes Anderson had already proven with The French Dispatch that he had fun with short stories.
Netflix
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar follows the life of a rich man who calls himself Henry Sugar and who has a great penchant for gambling. One day, he discovers in a book the incredible life of Imdad Kahn, a strange conjurer from India who is able to see without his eyes, a skill he learned from a yogi for years.
His exploits were recorded in a diary kept by a doctor who wanted Imdad Kahn’s story to be known to everyone. Henry Sugar will then use this book as a valuable manual to acquire the same abilities as Imdad Kahn in order to cheat at the casino and become even richer.
Wes Anderson fans will be served with this adaptation of The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar since this film, shot on 16 mm, is full of ideas and creativity. With the same palette of colors, which made the director special, as usual and the same attention to detail for the sets – which move, are made and unmade around the actors – and the homemade, this new film of Wes Anderson shines with his originality, freshness and theatricality.
Netflix
The actors deliver a very literary story with incredible energy, which avoids any kind of boredom or perdition for the spectator, who devours this story like a life-size picture book. The world of Roald Dahl blends perfectly with the singular and particularly noted world of the filmmaker with his precise frames, his pastel colors and his almost cartoonish energy.
The icing on the cake is that Wes Anderson always knows how to surround himself with a troupe of actors who are perfect for the role(s) they play. Thus, Ralph Fiennes slips into the skin of a mischievous Roald Dahl but also of a devious police officer while Benedict Cumberbatch is an excellent Henry Sugar.
The rest of the cast includes other impeccable talents like Dev Patel, Richard Ayoade and Ben Kingsley. In summary, The Marvelous Story of Henry Sugar is an unmissable little nugget which proves, if necessary, the inventiveness and madness of Wes Anderson.
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar is available on Netflix.