Asperger's in films

Asperger's in Films

There are many films about autism but only a few specifically about Asperger's. Despite the fact that the term Asperger's was introduced into the English speaking world by Lorna Wing in the eighties, the first high profile film to describe the condition did not appear until 1994.

The film is 'Nell'. It's a film about the discovery of a woman who had been brought up with extremely limited social contact and speaks a language known only to herself. She appears to have a learning difficulty. She's an innocent woman who is fearful of people and somehow wired into a deeper and more spiritual reality. Though she is diagnosed with Asperger's during the course of the film, her extremely unusual upbringing and uniqueness means she does not make it into my Asperger's film list.

There are many films in the eighties and nineties - and in earlier decades - that have tendencies towards Asperger's or include characters with Asperger's personality traits. They can include geeks, nerds, absent-minded professors, shy naive people, eccentrics and many aliens. The list of films I have in mind are too long to detail here, but I would like to mention 'The Man Who Fell to Earth' (1976), 'Being There' (1979) and 'Edward Scissorhands' (1990).

Towards the end of 2005, the BBC showed several films and documentaries about autism as part of an Autism Awareness Week. In a documentary 'My Family and Autism', Luke Jackson decribes his experience of living with Asperger's. I was very struck by the film and it made me think I might have the condition too.

The first key film on my Asperger's film list came out the following year. It is called 'Snow Cake' starring Sigourney Weaver as a high functioning autistic adult. The film intends to inform the public about the condition and to this end Sigourney and the other film crew worked hard to ensure the depiction of HFA was accurate.

The film is about an ex-convict who ends up sharing a few days with a high functioning autistic woman. She does not make eye contact and speaks in an intelligent, intense but rather cold manner. She has a compulsion for neatness and order. She likes to be alone. She's very aware of her neurological condition and spends a lot of time explaining it.

However, another dimension to her personality is an uninhibited solitary pleasure at simple things such as flashing lights, dancing, rolling around in the snow and even eating snow. This aspect seems to suggest an ability to switch to more classic autistic state. This aspect of her personality greatly adds to her attractiveness as a character though personally I found it hard to reconcile the contradictory personality traits. Still, the film presents a positive and strong image of a disabled woman.

The second key film on my list is called 'Mozart and the Whale'. It was released in the UK a few months ago though it was actually made in USA in 2005. I have not seen the film but only read reviews and watched the trailer a few times.

The film is about the relationship between two people with Asperger's who meet at an Asperger's support group. They are intelligent, talented, articulate and attractive people. The film seems to be a fairly traditional romantic story but with rather eccentric people. The characters seem to be presented as neuro-diverse rather than disabled people. It's a shame the film has not been released and distributed earlier in the UK. I'm hoping to find it on DVD soon.

In America, the 'Snow Cake' and 'Mozart and the Whale' are much mentioned in online discussion though they're not so well known here.

A third film about to join my list is called Ben X. This Belgian film is just released and will be showing at the Edinburgh Filmhouse at the end of this month, from Friday 26 September to 2 October. The film is about a young man who is bullied at school and retreats from the harsh realities of everyday life into an online fantasy world involving role-play.

The film has received very good reviews. Because of the importance of victimisation to the storyline, I expect the film will be a much less pleasnt or inspiring expereince than the first two films but I still think it's a film worth seeing.

Another film worth mentioning - though I have not included it in my film list - is 'Somersault' (2005). This is a fine and sensitively made film about a young woman who has relationship problems. If it were not for a few very contrived references to Asperger's - from which the director intends to make us think the young woman may have the condition - the link would be impossible to make. However, the fact a film is made about a person with borderline Asperger's - or possibly not - is in itself socially significant.

Finally, a film which may or may not have an Asperger's connection is just released in the UK but not available to view yet. The film is called 'Her name is Sabine'. It's a documentary about an autistic woman filmed by her sister who is a well-known French actress. From what I have read and seen on the video clips, the film is the story of a dispirited autistic woman who appears to be an able, attractive, talented woman - possibly with Asperger's - a few decades earlier. Her story is about how she regressed and how the medical system is supporting her.

Film Reviewer