Toronto - This is a rather old film (September 2007 according to imdb). So if you have seen it, bear with me.

BenX is the plight of an autistic teen against the world. And I’m going to spoil the ending because I loved it - he triumphs like spelling “victory” in caps - yet it may have mean nothing more than farce to him. Ben has Asperger’s syndrome (AS) - Wiki pins it at having difficulties in social interactions, atypical language and behavior, and lack of empathy. Ben’s world, as far as the film portrays, consists of repeating patterns and rules. He does this not because he is inclined to - but because it’s safe. He and his single-mother has learned that these patterns that Ben adheres to keeps the society comforted, to a certain degree. This is brilliantly embodies in his camcorder - splinters of edifying Superman crystals that teaches him what is the “correct” way to interact.

We soon find that Ben is marginalized by not only society at large, but also his peers, who generally wants nothing else but to see him suffer. They tease him in school. They tease him after school. They drug him, belittle him, physically abuse him. I guess the assumption is that Ben does not understand shame, nor empathy, anger, etc. It’s as if he is one big walking Milgram Experiment - the mind on the other side of the glass pane is not one of us. Here’s where you find humanity’s best qualities - our curiosity and fascination with experimentation. Or was it just sadism and the evolutionary need to show superiority even when it’s not contested? Through out the film, snippets of documentary clips show up. His mother, his father, the school principal, classmates, all provides a backdrop to Ben’s adventure. He likens himself to his online avatar - it’s funny how he learned and excelled at that game but was not given a chance to play in real life. Ben decided he would change this. The transfer of “EXP” from games over to real life is a good analogy - he designs an “endgame” for his oppressors together with the help of his clanmate and girlfriend Scarlite. Without ruining the ending completely, I’ll say it makes you think if AS sufferers really are handicapped at understanding emotions, or are they so passively astute that they are above it like Vulcans. Sure, the argument can be that Ben has traded one evil for another - but that’s something we cannot judge as “able-bodied” persons, since we are as ill-equipped to pass-judgment as he-who-reviews-the-iPhone-without-ever-touching-one, and I think that’s the most wholesome message the film carries. Bottom line: unless you’re a sadist, you’ll like the movie. My only gripe is that the English subtitle wasn’t always coherent…

“Good morning, Ben… kiss your mommy good bye like regular people do.”