海角大神

When Owen Suskind was three years old, his parents noticed that he聽was not connecting with the world in the usual ways. His speech was聽mostly gibberish and his interactions with his family, including his older聽brother, were troublesome. Eventually he was diagnosed with Pervasive聽Developmental Disorder, which is thought to be associated with autism.

鈥淟ife, Animated,鈥� Roger Ross Williams鈥檚 documentary, is inspired by the聽nonfiction book by Owen鈥檚 father Ron Suskind, a Pulitzer Prize-winning聽journalist. It records the remarkable transformation that occurred with the聽boy after it was discovered that he could recount from memory entire聽soundtracks from his cherished Disney animated movies, including mimicking the voices of his favorite characters. Ron and his wife, Cornelia, realized that Owen registered the life around him in terms taken from聽Disney plot lines. It was his way of making sense of the world and聽delighting in it.

Because the Suskinds filmed reams of home movie footage of Owen聽from babyhood onward, 鈥淟ife, Animated鈥� has a panoramic scope. We take聽in his transformation right through to the life he leads now 鈥� living聽on his own, surrounded by Disney memorabilia, in an assisted living聽facility, holding down a job in a nearby movie theater, and interacting聽with friends. He comes across as a funny, voluble young man.

The film is careful not to endorse Owen鈥檚 situation as any kind of聽breakthrough in the treatment of autism (and, to its credit, the Walt Disney Company has not attempted to capitalize in any way on Owen鈥檚 story).聽What the film is ultimately about is the extent to which love and caring聽can help turn a life around for a person deemed beyond reach. Grade:聽B+ (Rated PG for thematic elements, and language including a suggestive reference.)