Novelist David Mitchell ( Cloud Atlas, Utopia Avenue) translated Higashida’s memoir together with his wife Keiko Mitchell (the couple has an autistic son), and he talks here about how the young author opened his eyes to the difficulties that autistic individuals face in trying to communicate with the outside world.

The gap between what people perceive and the inner reality of autistic individuals is the main theme of The Reason I Jump, which is inspired by the titular 2007 book by Naoki Higashida (who is non-verbal autistic), written when he was 13. Meanwhile, at the bottom of the screen, Ben’s message is spelled out: “I think we can change the conversation around autism by being part of the conversation.” What the viewer sees and hears is Ben saying the letter “s” over and over. The profoundly empathetic manner in which the film conveys untranslatable emotions is nothing short of groundbreaking, and the compassionate way Rothwell challenges the preconceived notions neurotypical audiences could have regarding autism makes The Reason I Jump an essential viewing experience.Late in filmmaker Jerry Rothwell’s powerful new autism documentary, twentysomething Ben uses a pointer with a letter board to communicate. The film is reminiscent of 2016’s exquisite Notes On Blindness in the way Ruben Woodin Dechamp’s camerawork and Nick Ryan’s sound design evocatively convey the sensory input of its subjects.Ĭrucially, the oneiric stylistic flourishes never feel gimmicky but are always at the service of offering insight into a still misunderstood condition.

It’s no hyperbole to state that Jerry Rothwell’s documentary The Reason I Jump is one of the most immersive and affecting documentaries you’ll see all year.Ĭhannelling the words of Japanese teenager Naoki Higashida’s 2007 bestselling book The Reason I Jump: The Inner Voice of a Thirteen-Year-Old Boy with Autism, the documentary is a sensuous and impressionistic exploration of nonverbal autism that follows five sets of parents of autistic young adults.

The reason i jump