Matialth
Good concept, poorly executed.
Chirphymium
It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional
AutCuddly
Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,
davidbeland
I am not a gamer at all, so when i first saw the intro; Ben (Greg Timmermans) logging in his RPG account, picking up some cloths and weapons while narrating with his troubled and stuttering voice i thought: "Oh man, this is gonna be lame and boring as hell". I couldn't be more wrong!If you don't know how a guy suffering the Asperger syndrome (a form of autism) feels, this is THE movie by excellence. The actors performances are simply flawless, even breathtaking, the scenario is absolutely brilliant and the story, heartbreaking! Scenes after scenes, layers after layers you discover the cartesian mind prison in which Ben is held, trying his best to look normal. But also the disquietude and pain his family have to bear; some bullying scenes are quite painful to watch. If you've notice how teenagers can be cruel to each others, specially with those who don't fit the mold, then you won't have troubles believing that this story is based on real events. It's a very humane approach of a complex and misunderstood mental illness with a lot of depth. It's also a reflection on bullying vs "sin of omission" in a way. This movie should have way more exposure.
Michael Hall
Being a professionally diagnosed aspie myself, there were several details and traits amongst this film that really contrasted my own personal experiences in dealing with the general public and their mass confusion towards mentally-inept differences that millions of other Asperger-diagnosed individuals like myself face daily. Truth be told, I felt as if I were watching myself throughout the entire presentation. This little Nederlandic/Belgium-based film touched upon so many similar experiences to my own, it was mystifying and immediately familiar to witness what our protagonist had to endure throughout the film. Let it be no surprise that this way-underrated gem has inspired and motivated me like no other Asperger-based film thus far. Hollywood still has an awful lot of work to do in order to truly convey the mind and personality of an introvert with such honesty and determined "high-end-functioning autism" ethos. Kudos to Nic Balthazar for writing and directing an honest portrayal of the sublime tension and utmost agony in which different-yet-the-same peers of my own endure regularly. Just because we don't smile all the time doesn't mean we aren't smiling on the inside. Forget "Mozart & The Whale", "Adam", even "Rain Man" doesn't quite hold a torch up to this film. I believe "Ben X" truly defines a generation of misunderstood savants yearning for affection by any means necessary. I strongly urge anyone to watch this movie at least once. You will most notably understand Aspergers Syndrome better and respect those who are diagnosed with it more so than ever before. Do yourself a favor: get over your dislike of subtitles and watch this movie NOW. I encourage everyone & anyone to watch. For our sake. Thanks for your consideration.
whiteshadow1606
I don't know why the ranking of this movie was so high??!! 7+ per 10?? That's ridiculous!! I downloaded the movie because when i look at the IMDb rating, it's high.. So, i though it would be a great movie..Then, when i watched the movie last night, it was awfully boring!! I've already waste my 2 hours time sitting in front of my PC watching this movie..!! I really thought that having the idea of adapting the game features into real life is good.. But, in this movie, it's not good at all..!! It's totally wrong in this kind of movie!!The ending is kinda OK. But, i kinda expecting the ending like that. I can tell the ending by looking at the suicide scene and the parents reaction beforehand. The only good thing in this movie is that the hero is really a good actor. He's really into the role.. (Being an autism person i mean..).. Congratulation on that..~
falquizo
Movies about characters with disabilities usually focus on how the personal deficiencies were overcome, with everyone, especially the audience, feeling good in the end. This is not that kind of movie. Ben, the central character, is an autistic high school student subjected to repeated excruciating torments by his classmates. Everyday in school he gets slapped and pushed around while he cowers helplessly. Later he is subjected to a most traumatic assault by two of the meaner classmates, one cruel asault shown in the internet as a crowd of students cheer and jeer. Ben's divorced parents and the school authorities seem as helpless as Ben. As this goes on without respite I felt that Director Balthazar, (who wrote and directed this from his own novel), enjoyed Ben's suffering as much as his sadistic classmates. Somewhere along the movie I became convinced that Balthazar is submitting his own entry into the Torture Film Genre (Michael Haneke's "Funny Games" ('97), Mel Gibson's "The Passion of Christ"). Ben's consolation is playing his sword-and-sandal superhero video game, Archlord. This is used to tease the audience that at a certain point Ben will emulate his hero and fight back. He can never get himself to do it however. The only thing in that video game fantasy that becomes his salvation is the appearance of a young woman, Scarlite, who gives him the courage to act on his solution -- to die. It is this act that Balthazar uses to end the movie supposedly to shame Ben's tormentors and all the school authorities, into remorse over everything done to Ben. This retaliation that Balthazar cooked up, that these young brutes and thugs, these indifferent, uncaring and indifferent adults, can supposedly be shamed, I find not only naive but phony, artistically inane and dishonest. After showing us throughout the movie a group of irreparably thuggish youths and indifferent uncaring adults, Balthazar wants us to think that these people can be shamed into remorse and reforming. Balthazar's whole point seems to be that the only refuge the emotionally and mentally handicap can find is in the fantasy of video games, that the real world will always be cruel, even to the point of turning video -- the only world he can escape to -- into yet another torment. Balthazar probably forgot that the film world is bursting to its seams with Christ metaphors and Christ themes have long been exhausted, and any new attempt is artificial and shallow. Timmermans' performance, even if he looks older to be a high school student, is highly commendable. Ben's absorbing fear of the world outside his room and his video screen is perfectly encapsulated in the way he coils unto himself, the way he walks as though anticipating to fall or sink as he takes his next step, the contortions on his face as he walks through the gauntlet of students. The repeated shots from above when Ben gets out of his house looking like a creature coming out of a hole in the ground is a haunting image, implying his being not of this world. This is a well-photographed movie with a good script, very well acted by all, especially Timmermans and Verlinden, but the treatment of a disabled life really stinks.Tito Alquizola ##
