On Saturday, Jess and I decided to head up to downtown Warsaw and check out the Warsaw Film Festival. We weren’t sure what to watch, and had looked through a few of the descriptions of the movies playing in the "English Only" theaters. As we were about to leave, we noticed a few other friends of ours were planning on seeing Autism: The Musical (www.autismthemusical.com). We hadn’t seen this one, and it interested us, so our decision was made.
We were a bit early, so we bought our tickets, then got some Tiger Chai Latte’s from Coffee Heaven (good stuff).
The Warsaw Film Festival is a large, international event with filmmakers from various countries around the world showcasing their work. Autism: The Musical was the only movie we ended up watching, though I’m sure there were many other good films there! It was produced in the U.S., so we didn’t see anything very international, but it was VERY good.
The movie is about a woman, Elaine, who adopted her son, Neal, from Russia. Over the years, it became apparent that he was not developing as was expected. She discovered that he was autistic. Some of the things she said people told her, like "Send him back to Russia" were heartbreaking. But Elaine has more of a heart than that, and set out to defy society’s preconceptions and hopefully open people’s eyes.
I can say that she opened mine a bit farther.
Not that I’m close minded, but there’s always room to grow, and always things you didn’t know.
Without giving too much away, the movie follows a group of autistic children as they participate in Elaine’s "Miracle Project". The Miracle Project is essentially a play that the children help write and then perform. The movie follows their preparation, covering their successes, failures, and struggles. They also spend a good amount of time on most of the children’s backgrounds.
The underlying theme is that autistic children are not lost cases. They can accomplish as much as anyone, but they’re not the same as most people. So rather than to simply not try because it’s too hard, or too strange, these families joined together to prove the world wrong. They fight the world and themselves every step of the way to overcome what they see as more of a language barrier than a disability.
In the short duration of the movie you really come to know and adore all of the children for who they are, and their own personal quirks… Lexi who mostly repeats what’s said to her, the over-articulate Wyatt, Henry and his Dinosaur obsession, Adam and his cello (and the girl he likes!) and the Silent Neal, who seems to have ultra sensitive hearing, reminds his mother, and in a way the viewers, to be a better listener.
The movie tugs at your heart, and brings on a few tears and a few more giggles. It is a sobering experience, sharing both the playful times and the challenges that these families face every day. It reminds us that our most difficult struggles bear the greatest rewards. Or as Khalil Gibran wrote in The Prophet: "The deeper that sorrow carves into your being the more joy you can contain."
