"Mozart and the Whale" (2004)

[GoogaMooga]

No, no, no - this film should never have been made. I don't know what possessed me - was it the thrift shop price or was it the hype about Ron Bass, Oscar-winning writer of the modern classic, "Rain Man"?

Bass hit the mark with that film, it's never been bettered with regard to that particular subject matter, autism or more specifically, Asperger's Syndrome. When "Crazy in Love" premiered in 2004, Asperger's had only been recognized by WHO for ten years. It was still a new thing, people were learning about it. Heck, it was almost trendy, it certainly fascinated people.

I myself first heard of it in 1997, and I was diagnosed in 1998. So I'd say I know this condition pretty well. I can also say that Ron Bass' second screenplay outing with autism is an unmitigated disaster, an insult to all autistic people, as it goes completely overboard with non-stop geekery in the most condescending and caricatured way.

We laughed with Rain Man and found him endearing. But here we just get annoyed, the whole thing smacks of exploitation. "Crazy in Love" is the Danish title for this mess, which is known as "Mozart and the Whale" in the U.S. The original American title is meaningless, but at least it's not condescending like the lazy Danish one.