That said, I’m not so sure whether secondary themes such as mental health and childhood trauma are treated so well: I found the quality of the writing overall so high that not many flaws are obvious at all. To start with, I had half-expected a similar take on racial conflicts as portrayed in Wind River but instead, Thunderbird steadily perseveres towards harmony, which is refreshing. Writer/director Nicholas Treeshin is not exactly heavy-handed with the film’s major theme either. In the spring of 1957, auto racing buffs were treated to a battle royal when Thunderbirds and Corvettes went head to head in straight-line racing and sports-car competition. Alfonso Chin’s cinematography treats the landscapes, locations, and indigenous customs alike with a gentle touch. Ford was poised to pull out all the stops when it decided to create four special Thunderbird racers that became known as the Battlebirds.
There is a very strong sense of place throughout the film not like a familiar place, but more like somewhere we are being graciously allowed to visit. The Bridgewater Triangle is an area of about 200 square miles (520 km 2) within southeastern Massachusetts in the United States, 1 claimed to be a site of alleged paranormal phenomena, ranging from UFOs to poltergeists, and other spectral phenomena, various bigfoot -like sightings, giant snakes 2 and thunderbirds. It’s slow and steady, though not the sort of “slow burn” that leads to a huge crescendo: instead, the pace is about patient observation, and the ending is about reflection. The tone of the film and the themes that it pays respect to are everything. To be honest, though, Thunderbird is a captivating film to watch regardless of the plot or characters. Unfortunately, none of the other Thunderbird characters are as interesting (except perhaps one of the minor ones, known as Spaceman). Wilke is perfect in this role, and remarkably, it’s his first film. He’s clearly feeling guilty for losing sight of his sister, but it’s much more complex than that, which makes the guilt more difficult for him to carry. Will’s character is fascinating, especially as his backstory is gradually revealed and he is so guarded that it’s difficult to know what to make of him until then.
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