The Reason I Jump doc lets us see the world differently
Winner of the Audience Award at Sundance, The Reason I Jump takes it title and direction from the book of the same name. It was written by Naoki Higashida, a 13-year-old nonspeaking autistic boy, who describes the way he perceives the world. While the book has its critics who question the validity, to others it is a key moment in understanding and helping the progression of autistic children and adults.
What follows will be fascinating if you’re new to it, and take the validity of the book at its word. We follow five different stories of people on the autism spectrum, as well as their caregivers and loved ones. The book becomes a guide, with certain words describing what the subjects feel, or perceive. We see struggles with perception, with the narrator describing how someone might need an entirely different process to understand something as common as rainfall.
We also see the beauty in this worldview, as things neurotypical might overlook become soothing or exciting. As Higashida puts it, “when a shape is eye-catching, my heart drowns in it”. There is also an exploration of how modern technology is helping people communicate, as thoughts and feelings that would get lost in neural translation are helped with the aid of computers and different approaches to learning. Seeing tiny details through this new perspective makes for engaging viewing.
The price for this illuminating testimony is that the film rarely feels like a work of cinema. It functions as such, with excellent sound design, cinematography, and Higashida’s words providing a narrative spine. However, for the most part it feels instructional rather than cinematic. It is, in essence, an informational video about the lives of its subjects that will offer a fountain of insight if you aren’t informed about this topic. However vital that lesson may be, there’s a palpable sense of being taught something rather than told a story.
The Reason I Jump – the lastest in a documentary film renaissance – serves as a graceful primer for those unaware of the subject, but may feel too instructional for those with personal experience. To applaud a film has good intentions might seem patronising, but any lack of theatricality is surely forgiven when you think of the good this message might do.
The Reason I Jump is in cinemas from 18 June.