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| Ben X * * * |
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| Written by Ivan Radford |
| Friday, 29 August 2008 00:00 |
 Director: Nic BalthazarA Flemish film about a role-playing boy with autism, Ben X’s poignant premise sounds peculiar, almost unique. Then you hear it’s the first film to feature footage of virtual actors within an online RPG and your gut instinct is confirmed: Ben X is set to be one weird slice of world cinema. Bullied at school and subdued at home, Ben (Timmermans) lives in a different world to those around him. Unable to identify with his mother (Pinoy), she worries as an onlooker while he withdraws into the cyberspace realm of ArchLord. Within ArchLord, Ben X is one tough nut, right up there on level 90-wotsit and king of the flibbertigibbets. And stuff. He even has a girlfriend, Scarlite (Verlinden). She’s his healer, a girl who’s willing to traverse the globe (well, the Belgian train network) to help him sort out his endgame. Once she arrives, the plan to get revenge is put into action. Balthazar’s film is based on the true story of an autistic boy who was driven to suicide by his tormentors – a hard theme to swallow. Interspersed with retrospective vox-pops from family and school teachers, the tragedy could easily overwhelm. It seems gimmicky to cut between reality and in-game footage (Ben can’t walk to the bathroom without his digital self riding a horse across a field) but the kinetic cuts keeps it all from becoming too heavy. Despite the dated PC graphics, even reading Flemish text-speak is visually engaging. Accomplished turns by young and old cast members conjure up sympathy for the isolated teen, but the surprisingly upbeat ending leaves an odd, detached note hanging in the air; Ben X ultimately tells a sad story which we, like his mother, can only observe from the sidelines. VERDICT A provocative piece from the first-time director, which interests but never connects. |
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