‘Bookworm’: Mesmerizing and magnificently captured on film

Bookworm is a delightful and quirky new family-oriented feature film from New Zealand which, for optimum enjoyment, should be seen in a darkened cinema with an audience.

The story follows an 11-year-old girl named Mildred who is something of a bookworm living a mundane life with her mother. She escapes the sheer boredom of life by reading adventure books, never realizing that she’d one day journey on an adventure of her own.

When her mother has an accident Strawn, her father whom she has never met, flies over from America to be her temporary  guardian. They both go in search of a mythical beast known as The Canterbury Beast in the Kiwi wilderness, as a cash reward of $50,000 is on offer for photographic evidence of its existence.

There are ups and downs along their journey as they get acquainted, but will a lasting relationship bloom as father and daughter?

Has Strawn failed as a man being described by his daughter as a naïve and weak coward? And if so, will there be redemption?

American actor Elijah Wood portrays Strawn Wise, the father who is a disillusioned illusionist. He’s something of a wimp who runs away from the responsibilities of life

Mildred is the resourceful and precocious 11-year-old who admits she’s a ‘brutal realist’ and unlike normal children her age. Young actress Nell Fisher’s remarkable performance as the somewhat ‘annoying-know-it-all’ signifies that a successful future career in the arts awaits her.

The suffocating beauty of the picturesque landscapes are mesmerizing, magnificently captured on film and seemingly a significant third character in the movie. This film is unashamedly a post card of New Zealand to the world that should allure tourists to its shores.

There are some unsettling sequences when a couple of shady characters come out of the woods and intimidate Strawn. These scenes may prove disturbing for younger viewers.

Moviegoers may ultimately ponder what demographic audience this comedy drama is aimed at. Elements of a children’s story are obvious, but will adults be ultimately more captivated than children?

★★★
In Cinemas August 29