Roald Dahl has a story for you. It’s a wonderful story, really, about a man named Henry Sugar.
You see, at 41 years old, Henry Sugar had lived a life of limitless wealth and luxury. He had inherited his father’s riches, and he had never worked a day in his life. He drifted about without a care in the world, looking for fun things to satiate his boredom.
But while Henry Sugar was not a good nor a bad man, he did have one desire: to make himself even richer. And one of the few ways a man can attempt that without having to work for it is by gambling.
But one day, Henry Sugar stumbles across another wonderful story. The story he found was about Imdad Khan, “The Man Who Sees Without His Eyes.” This story told, as you might expect, of a man who learned to see things without even having to open his eyes. He could even see through things to look at that which is normally hidden … things like playing cards.
“Oh, and what an easy way to earn money that would be!” Henry Sugar likely thought to himself. And so Henry Sugar sets off to learn just how to see without using his eyes so that he can win millions at the poker table.
But the thing about seeing in new ways is that it has the tendency to change your perspective on things.
Henry Sugar does learn how to see without his eyes. His ability to earn money at various casinos works! But when Henry returns home to his London flat, he is somewhat disgusted with himself. For one thing, there was no thrill or difficulty in obtaining the money. For another, his ability to gain theoretically unlimited cash has made him realize just how pointless his greed is. Whether he earns five quid or five million, it’s all just another drop in the bucket for a man who isn’t struggling whatsoever.
That’s why Henry decides to throw the money off his balcony to the people below. And still, he sees how the love of money causes those people to riot for the falling pounds. He’s set straight by a police officer, who rebukes Henry for being so frivolous with his money. So he decides to use the money he gets with his powers responsibly by setting up hospitals and orphanages around the world.
The moral of this story reminds viewers of how greed is ultimately a fruitless endeavor. It calls to mind biblical principles about how money is a root of all sorts of evil and the dangers of overindulgence. We’re shown that Henry Sugar’s original goals to make a fortune for himself would have ultimately led to an unfulfilled life. But because he used his money to help those in need, he’s left a better impact on the world and passed away satisfied with his life.
Henry’s power, we learn, originated from a yogi in India. Yogi are practitioners of yoga in connection to the Hindu religion’s meditational practice. The man is seen levitating over his prayer mat while he prays. He tells Imdad a secret regarding the ability to see without eyes, which corresponds with much of the “emptying your mind” style teaching of Eastern religion:
“The mind is a scattered thing. It concerns itself with thousands of different items at once … You must learn to concentrate your mind in such a way that you can visualize at will one item—one item only—and absolutely nothing else.”
The yogi also says that certain “holy people” have been known to develop so great a concentration that they are able to see without using their eyes, since the seeing is done by “another part of the body.”
After Imdad learns this practice, he says that the teaching has helped him make a lot of money through “conjuring performances.”
Henry also learns how to do this style of meditation.
Henry takes a bath, and we see him shirtless.
At one point, Henry swaps in and out of various costumes and accents; one such costume is a dress in which he speaks in a feminine fashion.
A man points to the scar he’s obtained after another person hit him with a rock. After Henry throws money off his balcony, we hear the people below angrily fighting for the cash.
Henry is called an “idiot” twice. Someone exclaims, “What the devil do you think you’re doing!?”
Some people smoke cigars or cigarettes. People drink alcohol.
Henry uses his newfound ability to cheat at gambling games.
No, Henry Sugar doesn’t own a chocolate factory or a giant peach, but he’s got a big story of his own.
Wes Anderson’s adaptation of Roald Dahl’s The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar takes us almost completely verbatim through the classic tale of the wealthy man who learns to see without his eyes. During this 40-minute Netflix short feature, we hear some messages about generosity and finding joy in helping others.
At times, the film feels a bit speedy, as if some characters are trying to get their lines out as quickly as possible before Anderson’s unique directing style literally rolls the scene out from under them. But perhaps that’s part of how the movie means to whisk viewers away in a fantastical, fast-paced story within a story within a story.
The biggest concern parents might have from this tale is due to Henry Sugar’s mystical X-ray vision being the result of meditation paired with Eastern spiritualism. But as fantastical as the rest of the story is, it won’t be too big of a stretch for families to apply the same label to that, too. And perhaps, even, to talk about different world religions and some of the core beliefs they emphasize.
Benedict Cumberbatch’s character ultimately learns (and teaches) of how a love of money ultimately will lead to an unfulfilling life. And so while this short feature’s content issues might not live up to “wonderful,” the story is still pretty good.
Kennedy Unthank studied journalism at the University of Missouri. He knew he wanted to write for a living when he won a contest for “best fantasy story” while in the 4th grade. What he didn’t know at the time, however, was that he was the only person to submit a story. Regardless, the seed was planted. Kennedy collects and plays board games in his free time, and he loves to talk about biblical apologetics. He thinks the ending of Lost “wasn’t that bad.”
