Wonderstruck (2017) - full transcript

Ben.

Ben.

Ben!

Ben!

What?

What?
What's the matter, huh?

Can't you hear me?

- Are you deaf?
- Stop it, Robbie.

Go to sleep, boys.

Sorry, Mom.

Sorry, Aunt Jenny.



Shut up.

Hey, guess what.
We forgot a present.

What's that?

Constellations.

Catch.

Ca... Oh...

You really do live
in a museum.

Why do you always look so sad,
Benjamin Wilson?

Hmm. Neat.

It's like the one
we saw on the trail.

Thanks, Mom.

Sure, handsome.

So?

Yes?



Was my dad an astronomer?

Maybe that's why I like
outer space so much.

Makes sense.

Happy birthday,
Mr. 12-Year-Old.

Don't stay up too long.

Mom?

Mom!

Geez... God, you scared me.

What are you doing out of bed?

Why won't you ever
talk about him?

Other kids know their dads.

Not now, Ben.
Go back to bed.

It's what I wished for,
you know?

When I blew out the candles.

Another time, okay?

When it's the right time.

It's never the right time.

What does this mean?

What, Ben?

This quote.

"We are all in the gutter,

but some of us are
looking at the stars."

You said it the night
we saw the shooting stars,

and now it's on your wall.

Well, what do you think
it means?

That's what you always say.

"We are all in the gutter,

but some of us are
looking at the stars."

Mom.

Are you...?

- Ben!
- Janet?

What are you doing here?

No, what are you doing here?

This isn't your house.
Those aren't your clothes.

I shouldn't have
turned the light on.

- Benji, I...
- You smoke?!

No. I-I mean...

God, please don't tell my
parents, they're gonna kill me.

I don't understand.

You're wearing my mom's
clothes!

Oh, my gosh, I'm so sorry.

I-I just...
I needed somewhere.

This was supposed to be
my secret place, I just need...

I can't look at you like that.

Oh, gosh.

A-Are you okay?

Yes, I'm fine.

Sorry.

Are your parents
gonna sell this house?

I heard them
talking about it.

Why can't I just move back in?

- It's my house.
- I know.

And Robbie's kind of a pest.

If I knew where my dad was,
I could just...

Are you still having
those nightmares?

Not...

Sometimes.

Come on, we should...

We should go home, probably.

- I am home.
- I know, but...

You go.

I just want to stay here
a little longer.

That's, that's really not
a good idea.

There's supposed to be storms.

I won't tell your parents.

What?

That you were smoking.

Just let me stay
a little longer.

You really won't tell?
Seriously.

Yeah, I swear.

Oh, my God, then I completely
owe you a favor, Benji.

For real.

We all miss her, you know.

Don't stay too long. Okay?

Oh. Oh, no, no, no, no.

Uhh!

"A curator's job
is an important one,

"for it is the curator
who decides

what belongs in the museum."

"In a way,
anyone who collects things

in the privacy of his own home
is a curator."

"But how did
the very first curators

"store their collections?

"They were kept
in pieces of furniture

"called Cabinets of Wonder.

"Eventually, some collections
grew beyond the confines

"of a single cabinet
and took over entire rooms.

See figure nine."

Oh, my God.

"Danny."

Danny.

Danny.

"Kincaid Books.

West 81st Street,
New York, New York."

Uh, K...

L...

5...

0...

1...

8...

...9.

I'm not getting anything.

Where am I?

What's wrong?

Hello?

I can't talk!

I can't... I can't talk!

"Sorry" is unacceptable,

and you need to get the police
on the phone right now

and they need
to be coming here!

And you have security
that you can call

- that can close the doors!
- I understand.

...departure
of bus 23 for Detroit.

Buffalo and Albany
at Gate 4 on the lower level.

4:20 a.m.

Attention, please,
attention, please.

Northeast transit buses...

Out on the street

The summer heat

Boys playing games

Changing their names

Pulling tricks

Getting their kicks

All the way down

Let it ride

Trying everything now

Got to check it out

Trying everything now,
got to check it out

Somebody said,
you want a blow?

Hmm, why not?

I ain't got no place to go

Meeting the stars

In funky bars

Shiny cars
and backdoor lots

Trying to hike

For any other type of ride

All the way down.

Hey,
I'll catch up with you later!

Hey! Stop!

Give that back!

Hey, taxi!

Yeah. Go through,
go through, go through.

What you looking at?

- Ahh!
- Watch it.

Sorry.

If you're looking
for the bookstore,

it moved around the corner.

- ¿Qué pasa?
- A few blocks down.

- On 74th.
- Vamos, Jamie.

Llego tarde.

- I was just telling him.
- Come on.

Hey.

Wait. Espera.

Okay.

Ahora.

Okay, Jamie. Entonces...

3:00 en punto en mi oficina.
Okay?

- Sí, Papa.
- No se meta en problemas.

- I don't want another call from security.
- Okay.

Hey, kid!

Hey, that's mine.

"This meteorite fell to Earth

"thousands of years ago.

"It was brought
to the museum in 1902.

"All meteorites begin
their journeys to Earth

as shooting stars,
burning across the night sky."

Mm-hmm, and look.

This is, like, the outside.

In the nighttime.

Anyway...

I thought you would like
this one over here.

This one here.

Since you have it on your...

Over here.

Oh, my...

What's going on?

Are you... are you okay?

What's happening?

Are you sick?

Why did you stop here,
in front of this?

Shh.

I thought you liked wolves.

You dropped it in the rotunda.

I can't hear you.

Why?

Because I'm deaf.

Really?

Oh.

That's... I thought
you were ignoring me

when I was calling for you,
and you didn't answer.

- Makes sense now.
- Here.

Oh.

I didn't know you were deaf.

Me... Jamie.

Jamie.

I'm Ben.

Shh.

I learned it in school.

I don't know sign language.

Why?

I've only been deaf for...

Actually, it just happened.

How?

- Lightning.
- Lightning?

I thought lightning kills you.

Oh.

Lightning... kills you.

Not always.

Being hit by lightning?

Uh-uh.

Oh. Not...

Sometimes.

Mostly it's just quiet.

See that lady over there?

What?

She's always here.
It's so weird.

You... runaway?

Mm-hmm.

- From where?
- What?

Where... are you from?

Really?

Shh.

Up here.

Shh.

Huh.

What is this place?

My secret room.

My secret... room.

- Hmm.
- Mm-hmm.

You can stay here.

This can be...

your hideout.

Thanks.

So...

- why run...
- "Why..."

- ...away?
- "...run away?"

Oh.

Um...

My mom.

Oh.

Yeah.

Sorry.

What about your dad?

That's who I came here to find.

Are your parents... divorced?

No.

Mine are.

Hmm. Oh.

You know, I thought
he might be here, but...

Oh.

I tried to tell you before.

Kincaid's...

isn't clo...

What?

...open now.

Yeah, obviously.

Hey, I didn't know
you were deaf.

I didn't know you were
looking for your father.

Otherwise, I wouldn't have...

What are you saying?
Write it down.

Yeah. Sorry.

So, I still don't understand

how you... got here alone.

My cousin Janet helped me.

She owed me a favor,
so she brought my bag

and some things,

with some money
from my mother's

rainy-day fund.

So she... knows

where you are?

No.

No one knows where I am.

I do.

Oh...

I'm starving.

Oh.

Ta-da!

There you go.

Thank you.

- "A."
- "A."

- "B."
- "B."

"C."

- "D."
- "D."

"E."

"F."

- "F."
- Mm-hmm.

"G."

- "G."
- Mm-hmm.

Mm... "H."

"I."

"J."

"J."

Mm...

"U."

Um... "V."

"V." "W"?

"W."

"X."

"Y."

"Z."

Mm-hmm.

Good.

Oh!

I almost forgot.

Huh.

Hmm. Remember her?

Mm.

My mom. Mi madre.

She works a lot.

We live in...

Queens.

Queens?

- Mm-hmm.
- You don't live in New York?

Queens is in New York.

What?

- Forget it.
- Oh.

And this.

Whoa.

I found it in my mom's room.

It's from here.

Except a long time ago.

It's where I found
the bookmark from Kincaid's.

It's why I'm here.

Hey, you okay?

Sorry, I'm just really tired.

Well, take a nap.

Okay.

Hmm?

Ooh.

- Um, I'll be back later.
- Thanks, Jamie.

Ben!

- Ben!
- Ow.

Wake up!
Come on, I told my father

- I was staying over at a friend's house...
- What?

- So we have the whole museum to ourselves!
- I can't hear you.

Follow me, come on, come on!

Shh. Come on.

Wow.

Hey, look.

- See?
- Hmm.

The light goes through.

Neat.

Look at this.

Look.

This is cool. Ha.

Wow.

- Hey.
- Hmm?

Check this out.

Hey, little guy.

Ben.

- Huh?
- Ben.

Come on.

Let's go.

Jamie, what is all this stuff?

Shh.

Secrets.

Come on.

- Open it!
- What?

Come on, the file.

- Hmm?
- Open it up.

- The wolves.
- Whoa.

That is so cool.

"February '65."

That's the year
before I was born.

Whoa.

Whoa.

Yeah. Wow.

- Aurora.
- Nice.

Hmm.

Look at this one.

What? What is it?

It's my house.

"Miss Elaine Wilson."

That's my mom.

"Dear Miss Wilson,

"I will be spending
a few months in Gunflint Lake,

"researching a new diorama
for the museum.

"As the town librarian,

"I hope you can help me
with this research.

"Please contact me
at the address above.

"Thank you very much,

Daniel Lobel."

Daniel Lobel.

This has to be my dad.

Your father,
maybe he still remembers him.

You have to ask him
in the morning.

Yeah. Yeah, I will.

"I've... never... shown...

"anyone... the museum...

...before."

Hmm.

- Hmm.
- But I like it here.

I don't have a room
at my dad's place.

Oh, hold on.

I think you'll like this.

Oh.

I forgot.

It's okay, keep it on.

My mom had one like this.

I can feel the vibrations.

I...

Don't want to know your name

'Cause you don't look the same

- "F."
- The way you did

- "R."
- Before

- "I."
- Okay, okay

- Hmm.
- You think you got a pretty face

"E."

"N."

Mm...

"D." "Friend." Cool.

You looked all right before

Fox on the run

You scream

And everybody comes a-running

Take a run and hide...

Ahh!

Ben, Ben.

Ben.

Wake up!

Come on.

Come on.

- What?
- Look.

It's the same.

It's the same.

We're in
the Cabinet of Wonders.

How did this happen?

Why did my father
have this book?

Why was there a picture
of my house

in that file?

What's going on?

What?

What?

The bookstore? It's gone.

"I tried to tell you.

"It just moved.

"I didn't know...

you were deaf yet."

What do you mean?

You knew I was trying
to find my father.

That's why I went to Kincaid's
in the first place.

Why would you wait until now?

Because
I don't have any friends.

What?

What?!

"I wanted...

"to show...

you stuff."

"I wanted to show you stuff"?

What does that mean?

- I was afraid if you found your father
- What?

- He would take you away.
- I can't hear you.

- And if you didn't find him,
- I don't understand!

You'd just go back
to Gunflint Lake.

I was going to tell you.

You were going to tell me?

Yes, I swear.

How long were you going
to take?

I'm sorry, okay?

Please.

Just...

Yeah.

Well, if you wanted
to be my friend,

you would've helped me
find my father.

But... I'm helping you.

I'm helping you!

I'm helping you now!

I turn to the right

A little white light

Will lead you to my...

Blue heaven.

- I'll be right with you.
- Hello?

I'm sorry,

she's a little high-strung
first thing in the morning.

Hello?

You're scaring off
the customers!

Hello, Kincaid's.

Yes, of course.

We have lots of Dickens.

Oh, yes, we have four or five
copies, I believe.

Yup.

Um, yeah.
We're open till 5:00.

Ask for me. Walter.

Hello.
I-I didn't see you there.

Are you...

Did-did I wake you?

You can't hear?

I don't know sign language.

- You can hear?
- Yes.

But she's deaf?

Yes.

I had an accident.

Recently.

That's why I can't hear.

You s-s... you scared us.

Are you okay?

- Yeah.
- Yeah.

Thanks.

I, uh, I just fell asleep
for a second.

How do you know my name?

Did you know her?

I came here
trying to find my father.

He's looking for his father.

Who are you?

How do you know my name?

I saw you

at-at the wolf diorama
in the museum.

What is going on?

Tell me!

Where?

Come.

Whoa.

Wow.

What is this?

Where are we?

"I need you to be patient with
this story and read it slowly.

"I've worked in the Queens
Museum of Art for 15 years now,

"but the story
I need to tell you

"begins a long time
before that.

"When I was
a little girl in 1927,

"I came to New York
for the very first time.

"It was my brother, Walter,
who finally rescued me.

"I found him at
the Museum of Natural History,

"where he was working.

"I begged him to help me,

"to get me away
from my mother and father.

"I wanted to stay in New York.

I, I wanted to learn things."

"The first thing Walter did

"was help me find a school
for deaf children.

I didn't even know
such a school existed."

"My parents divorced
when I was young.

It was a big scandal back then
because my mother was famous."

"It was there at school
I met my Bill,

"who was training
to be a printer.

"We married and, before
we knew it, had a baby boy.

"Times as they were,

"everyone worried about us
raising a hearing child,

"but our boy managed to handle

his lack of deafness
just fine."

"Soon after I'd married,
Walter helped me get a job

at the museum
in the Exhibitions Department."

"I'd always loved making
models, so it suited me well."

"I worked there for many years
alongside my son."

"But soon

planning began
for the 1964 World's Fair."

The Unisphere

would have to withstand

the ever-changing forces
of nature,

as well as its own
enormous weight.

"One of the attractions

"was going to be the panorama,

"a scale model of the
entire city of New York,

"the largest architectural
model ever built.

"It was an opportunity
I couldn't pass up,

"so I left the Museum
of Natural History

"to work on the panorama
in Queens.

"Sadly, my Bill had
passed away by then,

"so it was just my son and me.

"When the world's fair ended,
the panorama was so popular,

"they decided to keep it open.

"But they needed someone
to maintain the model,

so they hired me for the job."

"Around that time,
our son was appointed

"the lead designer
for a new diorama

"at the Museum
of Natural History,

"the youngest person
ever to have that honor.

"But you already
know this part.

The job would send him up
to Gunflint Lake."

Your son...

is Danny?

You're my grandmother.

Where is he?

I came all the way
from Minnesota to find him.

Where is he?

"The librarian he'd contacted
to help him with his research

"happened to own a small cabin,

and he rented it from her."

Miss Wilson, is that you?

Am I in the right place?

You are indeed, Mr. Lobel.

The cabin is right over there.

It's Danny.

Whoa!

I don't like the ice.
I don't trust it.

Come on, Danny,
it's not gonna break.

It's two feet thick.

- Don't you trust me?
- I'm not sure right now.

"Dear Mom,
the research is going well.

Very helpful staff,
especially this librarian."

"Eventually, he completed

"the diorama of the wolves.

"I still go to visit it
whenever I can.

It's the only one
he got to make."

"Your dad was ill, Ben.

"He had a heart condition,
the same one his father had.

"It kept him out of the war,

"but a few years after
he returned from Gunflint Lake,

his heart..."

"This panorama is not just
a model of New York City.

It's also the story
of your father's life."

"When I took the job,

"I thought it would be fun

to secretly personalize
the panorama."

"I hid little mementos
from your father's life

inside the buildings."

We're gonna miss him.

There's nobody like him.

So, to Danny.

- To Danny.
- Hear, hear.

"I knew everyone
at Danny's funeral

"except for two people,

"a woman and a little boy.

"She introduced herself,

"and I recognized her name
from Danny's letters.

"She told me she'd
brought her son earlier

and showed him the diorama
Danny had made."

I don't remember any of this.

That's why I dreamed of them.

The wolves.

I saw them.

What happened?

- Help.
- Come.

Jamie?

Wait, how did you get here?

I followed you.

Wait.

I don't understand.

- What?
- She's the lady from...

Oh, she...

This special
radio red alert news report.

A major power blackout
has hit New York City

and surrounding communities.

Well, George,
there are individuals

directing traffic
at the intersection.

Uh, I-I assume many of them
are policemen.

Uh, some of them...

Oh.

My...

Friend.

Ground Control to Major Tom

Ground Control to Major Tom

Take your protein pills

And put your helmet on

- Ten, nine, eight
- Ground Control to Major Tom

Seven, six

- Commencing countdown, engines on
- Five, four

Three, two

- Check ignition
- One

- And may God's love go with you
- Liftoff

Ground Control to Major Tom

You've really made the grade

And the papers want to know

Whose shirts you wear

Now it's time
to leave the capsule

If you dare

Ground Control to Major Tom

Your circuit's dead,
there's something wrong

Can you hear us, Major Tom?

Can you hear us,
Major Tom?

Can you hear us, Major Tom?

Can you hear?

Am I floating in a tin can

Far above the moon

Planet Earth is blue

And there's nothing I can do

Though I'm past
a hundred thousand miles

I'm feeling very still

And I think my spaceship knows

Which way to go

Tell my wife
I love her very much

She knows

Ground Control to Major Tom

Your circuit's dead,
there's something wrong

Can you hear us, Major Tom?

Can you hear us,
Major Tom?

Can you hear us, Major Tom?

Can you hear?

by LiviuBoss