WONDERSTRUCK Dir by Todd Haynes Will Strike Some with Awe and Others Struck Ho-Hum

The fantasy/adventure art film geared for young adults is mystical, beautiful, enigmatic and surreal.  This is not say it will have mass appeal with its languorous pacing and somewhat dissatisfying climatic culmination.  Nonetheless, this movie is an artful journey that is meant to be experienced on many levels and in various sentient measures.  Director Todd Hayes (b Amer 1961) whose previous films CAROL & I'M NOT THERE both starring Cate Blanchette are very different genres.  CAROL being an artful contemplative film about dawning sexual identity in the 1950s and I'M NOT THERE is a study of Bob Dylan portrayed by many different actors.  WONDERSTRUCK is a vastly unique and is an astonishing achievement in movie making that defies a simplified classification.   The film's two main characters are prepubescent youths.  Ben (Oakes Fegley "This is Where I Leave You") and Rose (a marvelous debut by deaf actress Millicent Simmonds).   Ben & Rose come from different eras & locales.  The two share a defiant will, immense curiosity, and independence.  Unfortunately, both are deaf.  Ben becomes deaf from a lightning bolt that came through electrical wires on his birthday.  They both flee on their own to NYC seeking severed family ties.  Rose's story begins in 1927 living with her stern father outside NYC.  Her life is seen as a silent picture show in black/white without voices.  This episodic silent film portray is most effective as a way into Rose's world devoid of sound & parental love.  Ben's story begins in 1977, a world filled with technology & a poignant 70s soundtrack that he is inaudible for him.  Ben's arrival in NYC is reminiscent of Dorothy emerging from her black/white existence into a world of vivid color, images & characters.   It's preeminent these 2 indomitable individuals will have their destinies drawn together; the pieces to the puzzle seem to figure in with the NY Museum of Natural History.  Fortunately, both find an entrusted friend or family member.   The artistic direction of the movie is a diorama for experiencing sounds, the absence of sound, vibrant colorful images juxtapose with the nonappearance of colors.  The silent ARTIST (mostly shot in black/white) won the Oscar for Best Picture in 2011.  WONDERSTRUCK's visuals are modeled somewhat like ARTIST.  However, the film captures the unexpected world seen through the eyes of young people in a world that is filled with miraculous things to discover.  I was struck with awe journeying through time & space seen through Ben & Rose's unjaded & undaunted eyes.