siff: ben x

I cheated. I read The Stranger’s review before I saw this film and went into it with low expectations. Thankfully, Annie Wagner apparently doesn’t know her ass from her elbow. In the review she openly displays her ignorance of practically everything the movie is about, and clearly invested no effort in understanding it.

Ben X is a Belgian film about an autistic boy who is tormented by a majority of the below-average students he is forced into sharing a school with, and works through problems with the help of a MMORPG. Throughout the film there are cuts to and blending of that RPG world with the real-life world which are very helpful in portraying what Ben is thinking and how he is attempting to come to terms with what is occurring.

One thing that is easy [for me] to take away from the film is that public schools are ill equipped to deal with (and I’d argue simply incapable of dealing with) anything but the lowest common denominator. The instructors are powerless, the administration inept, and most of the students ruthless in their sadistic desire to destroy anyone different than they.

While I wouldn’t say I “enjoyed” Ben X, it was definitely worth the price of admission and I’d recommend it to anyone else who is subtitle-tolerant, would appreciate the MMORPG references, and is patient enough to watch yet another film about someone with a handicap.

I rate Ben X 4 out of 5 rare items.