Courtesy of Netflix

“The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar,” released on Sep. 1, is inspired by the Roald Dahl novel of the same name.

“The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar,” produced by Wes Anderson, is a short 40-minute show converted from the 1976 story by Roald Dahl.

Anderson said, “I hope you like it, and if you don’t, that’s okay because it’s very short.” This short show packs a punch and leaves watchers on the edge of their seats. 

The short film, released on Netflix on Sept. 27, is about Henry Sugar, a wealthy man who puts his mind to a life-changing challenge. Henry is a man who enjoys exploring and stumbles across a doctor’s report on a patient at a hospital in India, which he finds strange but interesting. This patient, Imdad Khan, was a runaway from a traveling circus and wanted to learn new talents. Henry decides to dive deeper into this strange patient and discovers that Khan sought out the Great Yogi Hardawar, who taught him to see without using his eyes.

After starting with thin objects like paper and cards, Khan eventually learned to see completely without using his eyes. 

Henry becomes obsessed with this idea and decides to spend the next three years practicing Khan’s meditations. He begins by staring into a candle flame at eye level, but this does not work. Next, he tries this while thinking about the person he loves most in the world, and after much trial and error, he can stare into the flame without breaking concentration. 

After three years of practice, Henry can see through the backs of playing cards. He does not use this new skill for good; he cheats at every casino and wins a lot of money, once winning over $30,000 at a single casino. However, Henry becomes unsatisfied with his winnings because it’s “too easy.”

Henry decides to throw all his money off his balcony but ends up causing a riot. After causing a riot, his gambling habits got the best of him. He runs away and travels the world, cheating in casinos worldwide. 

Twenty years later, Henry sadly dies from a pulmonary embolism, which he could see coming because he could see the tumor through his skin.  

Overall, this short film teaches viewers about greed and how we must be careful what we wish for. I recommend this to college students learning about money and what to spend their time doing. 

Rating: 10/10