The United States of Autism (2013)
Follow one man's 11,000 mile, 40 day journey across the American landscape to visit twenty families and individuals affected by autism while searching for answers for his own son. With interviews from around the nation that include the widest spectrum of backgrounds - each conducted in the participants' original language - the film weaves a broad and compelling tapestry across the spectrum of American life in all its faiths, disparities, colors, and cultures. What he learns along the way will change not only his life, but the lives of those he meets, forever. It's a story about the best days that still lie ahead for our nation, the families, and the people who give America its heart.
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Reviews
i must have seen a different film!!
Absolutely Brilliant!
Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.
All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.
An OK movie. Enjoyed the views of underrepresented person, Muslim community, but he doesn't spend enough time with each family to hear their whole story and he even points this out in subtitles while doing an interview. my biggest problem was that the movie gave a soap box to people who think vaccines are to blame, even a congressmen stated this point of view. I know that you don't want to sensor people but as a healthcare provider this is just bad for public health. Vaccines do not cause autism. Period end of story. And to give anyone with that point of view a means to amplify their belief is dangerous. Would really of loved to just follow a few families and their struggles to try and learn what they go through to better empathize but any hope of this was over shadowed the anti-vaccine beliefs.
As a parent of an autistic child, I always brace myself when I go see films on this subject. Films exploring autism usually bum me out, because there is a tendency to portray autism as a calamity and a burden to society, without taking into consideration anything else. The United States of Autism is like a breath of fresh air. Mr Everts interviews families with autistic children from all walks of life, as well as some (but in my opinion not enough) autistic kids and adults themselves, in a very relatable manner. I particularly appreciated the words by one of the interviewees, Mr Alex Plank, founder of Wrongplanet, which I found very inspirational. In all, this unpretentious yet honest string of stories made me feel like part of a broader community that is able to appreciate all the fun, quirky, insightful and loving traits that autistics share with their families and society in general.