Ben X

I thought that Ben X was an excellent film to watch. Ben is very different. He has Aspergers Syndrome, a form of autism, which makes him very different from other people. He plays his favourite online computer game Archlord all of the time, trying hard to train himself for the real world that he lives in. The hard world of a school is for him a daily kind of hell. As the horror of being a daily subject to bullying starts to get worse, Ben works out a plan. Then a girl called Scarlite comes into his life, the girl that he has met in his on-line game. I found this film to be an excellent movie, that includes a lot a senses of bullying, and violence towards Ben from the other children in his class. Recommended..

I watched this movie at the Festival in Montréal. I enjoyed it a lot. Some people really hated it. It's great to see a movie like this coming from Europe. The soundtrack was excellent and the acting by Greg Timmermans was superb. The Movie asks many important questions about our time and what it means to be caught in two "realities".

The director knows how to pull off an intense portrayal of a life between reality and fantasy. The visual effects were a bit unconvincing at times but I accepted that because the storyline kept me interested.

The movie won the big prize in Montréal, so I'll look out for this director in the future.

7 out of 10

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning

With the film adaptation of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time seemingly abandoned, it seemed that Rain Man was the closest I would get to seeing a film about someone with Asperger's Syndrome, the condition I've admitted to having. But out of nowhere, along comes this offering from the Netherlands (with characters speaking in what surely sounds like German!), which has gained some acclaim but seems unlikely to become anything more than a cult offering. It's essentially just your typical boy-getting-bullied-at-school drama, with a talking heads docu-drama feel thrown in along with some effectively unpleasant scenes of bullying (including forcing an ecstasy tablet down the victim's throat in the end to blot it out) as well as clever touches as using the boy's obsession with online video games to compliment fighting with his enemies in real life. It's a string of original touches strung together to make one film, and while it doesn't fit together perfectly as a film, it's certainly great that an effort like this is bringing the condition so upfront in people's faces. ***

For me, it was probably the best movie I've seen about bullying and adapting to modern society when you don't fit the mold, when you're not particularly socially adept. It's not just about autism, everybody should see this, particularly those who have been ostracized in school for whatever reason, especially gaming geeks. Mostly because of the incredible performance by the lead actor (but also because of how well it was filmed), I totally felt and rooted for him. I quite enjoyed the gaming background of Ben although it didn't feel completely believable. No one with a gaming character would just stand there without fighting back. In my book, it's a must-see if you can find it.

9 out of 10.

I saw this movie yesterday at a movie theater in Leuven. Nic Balthazar came to this theater to answer some questions afterwards. This movie gets to you from the beginning till the end. Nic Balthazar created a jewel that will shine for long. He makes me longing for more. Very nice work! I'm not willing to tell something about the plot of the movie, because you can never catch the atmosphere this movie has. I am very glad that I speak Dutch, because I am afraid that a lot of the nice lyrics that are spoken in this movie can not be translated as brilliant as spoken... Although I don't think this will be a large problem, this movie has it all, action, romance... It does go straight to the heart. I still don't understand how a debut can be this close to perfection. It is "must see" for everyone!