De Gek op de Heuvel (2006)

A film that is easy to watch but never manages to become gripping. This is mainly due to the superficial script and the one-dimensional characters. As a result, the acting does not rise above that of an average television movie, and Ief Dams' stereotypical portrayal is at times even quite distracting.

Translated from Dutch · View original

A film about which I have mixed feelings. Generally satisfied that ASD was approached from a fairly ordinary perspective. No Rain Man, Marsman, or other extreme form of ASD, because most people fall within Thomas's spectrum. Thomas seemed to me to have normal intelligence. Those slips of the tongue seem to me to be part of the autism. He also takes everything very literally; that came across very strongly.

Nowadays, ASD is well managed and supported, not only for the person themselves, but also for their environment. I was really shocked that people actually spoke of a disabled person. There was no sign of insight or understanding into the disorder anywhere. I had no idea that people really approached this in such a narrow-minded way 15 years ago. Oh right, the title alone. Where did that come from??? Quite derogatory, even...

The plot is peculiar. As if they suggested that Thomas was being difficult because of the divorce. It seems to me that Thomas has always been like this. The subplot didn't really matter; they should have focused more on Thomas's autism. A decent film, but just not quite there.

Translated from Dutch · View original

The film scores around 2.85, and yet you only see two 3-star reviews here. So it is high time to add half a star to that. For me, it falls between 3 and 3.5. It beautifully portrays how caring for such a boy is not easy for a relationship, especially alongside the other daily struggles, but that you can get used to it all and that a lot of beautiful things can emerge from it.

Just like another film I watched today, The Gabby Petito Story, this stirred up quite a lot of emotions due to (unfortunately) some familiarity.

Translated from Dutch · View original