“Autism: The Musical”

  

Review on www.denver.yourhub.com :

“Steeped in a sense of optimism, this remarkable film follows five autistic children over the course of a year as they write, rehearse and produce their own full-length musical, tossing aside all stereotypes in the process. Moving and dramatic, the film follows the joys and tribulations of the kids and their families during this amazing stage production. One in 10,000 kids were afflicted with the condition just over a decade ago; now it’s 1 in 150. On the short list for the Academy Awards Best Documentary 2008 .”

Review in today’s paper:

“High School Musical” it’s not. Nor is it a heartwarming story of a group of misfit kids who band together, put on a show and overcome their adversity once and for all.No, “Autism: The Musical” is deeper than that. Though it’s framed around a group of autistic kids putting on a show at the Miracle Project in Los Angeles, it’s really a look at the toll autism takes. The toll on families (separation, divorce, infidelity) and on children, most of whom seem like sweet kids trapped, to various degrees, in their own minds.

At the beginning of the film — which screens today at Boulder High School as part of the Boulder International Film Festival — we learn that in 1980, one in 10,000 kids was diagnosed as autistic. Today it’s one in 150.

The hero of the story, if there is one, is Elaine Hall, single mother of autistic Neal. She started the Miracle Project to teach autistic kids acting and movement. In between scenes of the kids improvising, writing and singing in preparation for their upcoming show, we get in-depth looks at several of the children in the production. They include Lexi, whose echolalia causes her to repeat the words others say to her, rarely forming original sentences of her own; Wyatt, a well-spoken young man obsessed with bullies; and Henry, whose famous father is revealed later in the film…”

Daily Camera

To read full article go to: dailycamera.com/news/2008/feb/17/review-autism–musical-not-light-hearted/