Mary and Max (2009)

Not released on DVD yet (2/10/10)

There has been a flurry of films about autism and Asperger's. This one is animated.

From NetFlix: Mary Dinkle, a chubby 8-year-old Australian girl, and Max Horovitz, an obese, middle-aged New Yorker with Asperger's syndrome, are a pair of unlikely pen pals in this quirky clay animation feature from writer-director Adam Elliot. Corresponding for two decades, the friends delve into a variety of topics, including sex, kleptomania, psychiatry, taxidermy and more. Toni Collette and Philip Seymour Hoffman provide the voices of Mary and Max. 2009 80 minutes

The Horse Boy (2009)

Medical student, Caitlin Stiglmeier alerted us to this film which is being released this fall and winter. The movie is based on the book of the same title. From the website: "The Horse Boy does more than chronicle Rowan and his parents' journey across the vast, wild landscape of Mongolia. It delves into the strange world of autism itself, the relationship between humans and animals and between different cultures and different ways of being (autistic vs. normal, or "neuro-typical"), and the nature of healing. Audiences hear the varied theories on autism from the experts in the field, well-known researchers of autism such as Dr. Simon Baron-Cohen of Cambridge University; Dr. Temple Grandin, recovered autist and professor of animal behavior at Colorado State University; and anthropologist and researcher Roy Richard Grinker of George Washington University. But above all, The Horse Boy tells the story of a couple that goes to the end of the earth to find a way into their son's life."

This appears to be worth waiting for.

The Black Balloon

"Would you be able to cope? That is the unspoken challenge laid down by “The Black Balloon,” a harrowing, unsentimental portrait of a middle-class Australian family whose oldest son has severe autism compounded by attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Would you find in yourself the seemingly infinite reserves of love and patience possessed by the Mollisons, the movie’s itinerant, highly stressed army family who have just moved to the suburbs of Sydney? Maybe not." — Stephen Holden, The New York Times

This film has not opened up in many places yet (December 5, 2008)

Snowcake

From Netflix: Alex (Alan Rickman), a British man stranded in Ontario and haunted by a fatal accident that took place there, is forced to confront his past when he meets the autistic Linda (Sigourney Weaver) in this heartfelt drama. Linda is the mother of the teenage girl who died in the accident, and though she's sustained an unimaginable loss, it is she who helps Alex find his way back to a life once again filled with hope. Carrie-Anne Moss also stars. 2006, 112 minutes

Fine performances in this droll movie. Well worth watching. DJE

Billy the Kid

From Netflix: Filmmaker Jennifer Venditti documents the engrossing life of Billy P., a teen in small-town Maine enamored with girls and pro wrestling. But as the cameras roll, a more complex portrait emerges of a troubled but ultimately triumphant young man. From finding the courage to ask a girl on a date to confronting his painful childhood with remarkable humor, Billy is a testament to the power of love and family to overcome any obstacle. 2007 84 minutes

From Seattlest.com: Depending on how excruciating your teenage years were, the documentary Billy the Kid will have a different effect on you. Certainly if you have or know someone who has Asperger's syndrome, it'll make you squirm a bit. But it's also about being an outsider in a small town. About wanting to share interests. About negotiating the changes life throws at you. About falling in love for the first time and emotional insecurity. Except for Billy's unembarrassed trials at putting words to his feelings in public -- really, what being a teenager teaches boys *not* to do -- it's not that unusual a story. That lack of censorship can be hilarious, inspiring, or wildly inappropriate.

Available on NetFlix

Ben X

Ben is different.

His life is a universe to itself, where he plays his favourite online computer game Archlord
avidly, trying hard to train himself for the real world he lives in. The harsh world of a technical school is for him a daily kind of hell.

As the horror of being a daily subject to bullying grows, Ben devises a plan. Then Scarlite comes into his life, the girl he has met in his on-line game. That wasn’t part of the plan...

I have not seen this Belgian film about Asperger's syndrome yet, but a friend in Canada strongly recommended it.
This page will be updated when more information is available.

Rain Man

Fast-talking yuppie Charlie Babbitt learns the lesson of a lifetime when he meets a brother he never knew he had. Raymond Babbitt (Oscar-winner Dustin Hoffman) is an autistic savant who has spent most of his life in an institution. But when their father leaves his fortune to Raymond, Charlie takes his unusual older brother on a cross-country odyssey neither will forget. Other Oscars include Best Picture 133 minutes.
Wonderful performance by Hoffman. Fine introduction to savant syndrome.