"Ocean Heaven" is a recent film starring action film actor Jet Li...it is a markedly different role for him as the terminally ill father of an autistic young man.
In typically Chinese style, it is a fairly sad movie, but with a pretty good sense of closure (Asian films frequently do not provide the audience with such). Jet Li is excellent, and captures the role very well. Families who have been touched by autism will relate well to the desperation of a parent seeking to provide for a special needs child after his own death. With that, the film also presents a realistic portrayal of the honest struggles, but also joys, of the life of Dafu (the autistic son). Presenting a portrait of anyone diagnosed with autism can be a tricky issue, since an individual with that diagnosis will not fit into a box every time of what a person with special needs will look like, but the film did an excellent job and didn't turn Dafu into a caricatured individual.
If you get a chance, see it!
No comments:
Post a Comment