lukasbazan

Hors normes (2019)

To be 'different'

This movie hit me hard in a lot of places because I am in the autistic spectrum myself and though my diagnosis isn't as extreme as the cases portrayed in the film, it still hits home at my very core.

Every actor here shines with honesty, warmth and heart. Vincent Cassel and Reda Kateb are perfectly cast; they feel alive, in a good, non-stereotypical kind of way. Although they are as flawed as any of us, they are driven to give people with autism compassion, empathy and love (especially the last one!)

The government officials that try to investigate Bruno's and Malik's organisation are also left with a choice of morality: will they go out of their way and let the organisation be, even though no one in it is has any medical degree whatsoever or is trained in the ways of dealing with autistic individuals? Or will they report the organisation as ramshackled and chaotic, basically sentencing the autistic individuals to a life in 'a madhouse'? It could be all these things, yet the answer is never clear cut because the subject matter is an area filled with grey patches.

I couls go on and on about the system because I had almost been in it myself, were it not for my family's love and devotion to see their child grow up in a healthy way. But to do that would be to downplay what the core message of this film and what it represents as a whole in a society that shuns those who are just 'different'.

Love and compassion can go a very long way in shaping an individuals life for years, and autistic people are just the same in that regard. We just need some more time! :)