The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, a part of four short movies directed by Wes Anderson in a unique partnership with Netflix has received positive reviews from audiences as soon as it landed. The 39-minute-long film is an absolute and pure delight, as per viewers’ verdict.
Wes Anderson with his inimitable style gave this adaptation for Netflix of lesser-known stories by Roald Dahl making the story evolve in unexpected ways. However, this isn’t the first time that he has adapted a Dahl story, of course; Anderson directed the excellent existential stop-motion film Fantastic Mr Fox in 2009.
Is The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar Grounded on a True Story?
Roald Dahl penned the stories in The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More at different times throughout his life. Amongst the cast of The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (film), Benedict Cumberbatch is seen in the titular character of Henry Sugar, and Ralph Fiennes plays Dahl.
It is a faithful adaptation of Roald Dahl’s tale, which, despite being largely made up, has a hint about an intriguing true story. One of the characters is actually based on a real-life person.
Interestingly, the character Imdad Khan in The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar is based on a Pakistani magician who actually lived in the 1900s. Kuda Bux was his name; he was born in 1905 and passed died in 1981. He even traveled around the world, startling everyone with his magic tricks and earning him the nickname “The Man Who Can See Without His Eyes.” Imdad Khan is interpreted by Ben Kingsley.
However, Henry Sugar is not based on a real person, while Imdad Khan is. Dahl created the character for his short story notwithstanding the assertions made by the protagonists, Henry Sugar and the fictionalized version of the author, that Henry Sugar’s story is not a made-up story.
The plot of The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar
The short film by Wes Anderson follows Henry Sugar as he discovers the mystical tale of the enigmatic Imdad Khan (Imhrat Khan in the novel), a person who could see without the use of his eyes. Henry is inspired to learn how to see without eyes and see through things upon reading a doctor named Z. Z. Chatterjee’s account of Imdad Khan’s life and his amazing talent. Henry Sugar does this in order to have a successful future. The struggles Henry Sugar has to overcome in order to acquire the skill are explored as the short film progresses.
Henry Sugar plans to cheat at gambling using the expertise he spent years perfecting, which would unexpectedly lead to an existential crisis.
The story concludes with an explanation that Henry Sugar has recently passed away from a pulmonary embolism, which he had foreseen because he possessed the ability to see within his own body. Following his goal for 20 years, he dies quietly after amassing £644 million for the less fortunate.
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar is streaming on Netflix.
Source: Screen Rant
