A Is for Autism

Based on sketches or animated sequences by people with autistic syndromes, this film shocks with the beauty of the haunting images, opening a little window to the alternative perception present in autism, bare though of any shallow sentimentalism. The content is valid medically, and the images are of the most beautiful animated icons in films. "my first drawing was of street lights" and by that first line you hear, you know you enter a room where the natural laws don't apply, where a caress is painful, and a lullaby is a splintering scream. It is of the rare cases of films, succeeding in presenting correctly and almost fully a medical subject and still be food for the soul for a film lover.

This animated film is very nice, as it tells and shows what life is like for people with Autism but it isn't schmaltzy or preachy. Plus, it's use of various animation styles and bringing Autistic kids' drawings to life was really original and made a heck of an impression as I watched.

The film uses the words of actual Autistic people to explain their daily lives, their difficulties with normal processing and gives insight into why they do some of their bizarre behaviors. The only weakness of this is that it seems to focus on higher functioning people with Autism (or perhaps Asperger's Syndrome) and may give the false impression that all people with this disorder are as communicative and well-spoken as the people portrayed in this lovely film. Still, this is a minor complaint and is a wonderful introduction into this world for the average person.

Exceptionally well made from start to finish--a great film.

Made using real drawings from people suffering from autism, and using narration from those able to express their memories and their feelings, this short film was produced as part of Channel 4's autism awareness campaign in 1992. The animation is interesting throughout, although it is a mix of styles that takes a picture drawn by one of the contributors and expands it into movement before running it into other contributions. If you require Pixar quality animation then a) you'll be let down here and, b) you're an idiot, because most animation out there is more akin to this film than the multi-million budget stuff. The altering styles is interesting though and it helped keep me interested.

Of greater value is the dialogue; it never goes into medical detail of autism but instead just allows those sufferers to speak for themselves about their habits, memories and feelings. It is interesting and naturally delivered by all involved and all the stories/feelings are backed up well by the animation. I imagine this is not going to be an easy short film to find but it is worth seeing for the personal insight it does give and is worth seeing by anyone who wants to improve their emotional understanding of autism.

I wasn't sure what this was going to be. But as I watched it, I was pleased to see how a condition, so common today, and so misunderstood, could show people with great gifts. The use of drawing and voice overs works beautifully and should be shown to educators and others brought into the lives of these children.