The Specials - Fuori dal comune

This is a deeply moving film, dealing with a difficult subject - autism - in a no-holds-bared fashion. The acting is first rate. The story is admirably structured. I was surprised when it ended, which means it moved right along. The audience I saw it with was left speechless at the end, and for good reason.

This is NOT a feel-good movie in the American sense. But it is a deeply humane movie, with real people and not flat stereotypes. It should earn a lot of very deserved awards.

Based on the true story of a man named Stephane Benhamou and his organization, The film tells the story of Bruno, a middle-aged French man who has dedicated his life to help and support people and families dealing with autism. Bruno, played flawlessly by Vincent Cassel, runs a semi-pro organization along his friend and colleague Malik (Reda Kateb) and together they do all they possibly can to build a life for children and adolescents with the most severe cases od autism.

This film is sharply written, you'll get throwed into the heart of story form the very first minutes and you'll get to know the various characters, the legal problems of the organization, the children and their parents (or lack there of) and as the story unfolds to you bit by bit, you'll soon forget that you're just watching a motion picture, you'll forget that Cassel and Kateb are two superstars imposing as these roles.

This is a very moving film. It clearly is a passion project for the directors (they actually waited a long time to make this), and the film is simply amazing. I wish this was on every screen instead of some crap they're showing these days.

This is probably not the best movie this year in any particular aspect. It is the fact that it's outstanding in many of them which makes it one of the memorable ones for me.

Sure, the story is made to please. There's no twist in the plot or sophistication in the narration technique. Nothing too innovative about it indeed. The message alone, however, is very powerful, despite its predictability. Add a well-measured balance of dramatic and hilarious moments, a story that moves fast along with remarkable acting, and the movie stands.

You'll get the best out of it if you watch it in French, of course. Very certainly worth one's time.

The story: this movie portrays an independent volunteer organisation that helps the most severe autistic patients, which cant get / find any help from the official care providers. Because this volunteer organisation is not an official care provider, they get inquiries by the official government agencies. Will they be able to keep providing care for these vunerable autistic patients or will they be shut down by the government because of bureacratic rules?

The good: endearing, warmhearted portrait of volunteers who care for those autistic people who are abondoned by the official care providers.

More good: some of the finest French actors, performing at their best, among one of them is the famous actor Vincent Cassel, who plays a care giver who dedicates his entire life to the care of autitistic patients.

Autistic people struggle tremendously with intense fears in very ordinary situations, like taking a subway or solliciting for a job. With these very severe autistic people their fears get "translated" into very severe behavioural disorders, like self obsessive repetitive behaviour or even self mutalation.

Not many movies get made about autistic people. This is definitely one that is straight from the heart. Endearing, impressive and shocking, but in the end uplifting and hopeful, because with proper care even the most severe autistic people can improve the quality of their restricted lives...

Bruno and Malik couldn't be too different. Bruno is Jewish, Malik is Arab. Bruno is a loner Malik is a family man. But they are united to help children with autism. And this passion drives every day of their life.

We often forget what a definition of a good person is. In THE EXTRAORDINARY it's those who don't look away and don't give up when things get hard. Once again the duo Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano (The Intouchables) wrote and directed a film about real people standing up to great hardships, and they've done it with a lot of heart, humour and no preaching.

The film's first shot could be one from a thriller - a young girl is running from her pursuers through the city steers, only to be caught and drugged into a van, which quickly drives away. This is a common theme of the film - a fight with preconceptions. What seems like a kidnapping is actually a rescue mission.

Nakache and Toledano created a perfect style of story telling - through small character story arcs and anecdotes they speak of a greater things, creating a versatile canvas of the world their characters live in.

The other strength is in choosing their cast: Vincent Cassel and Reda Kateb are at the peak of their popularity in France and have a perfect chemistry. The script is written with honesty, clarity, irony and humour and can only be described as perfect.

With its themes of following one's calling and challenging the rules society creates for the problems it doesn't understand, THE EXTRAORDINARY is deep and emotionally satisfying experience.