No Espaço Não Existem Sentimentos

I saw this film at Noordelijk Filmfestival 2011 (in Leeuwarden, province of Friesland NL). I was a bit reluctant at first to book this film, as I feared some uncomfortable moments where you feel you can't bear to watch any further. But I stand corrected.

The first half gives us an insightful view into the lives of people dealing with Asperger, including the problems faced by family and friends. A nice touch were the mnemonic diagrams we saw projected on screen, obviously an internal aid for Simon in deriving someone's mood from his facial expression. Most "normal" people don't need such lists, but requiring such is a genuine characteristic of this syndrome.

A lot of humor is interwoven in the script. It offers many moments of relief for us (the audience). That is definitely a positive side of this film. On the other hand, I suspect several things to be simplified too much. People dealing with Asperger syndrome in the real world, may see many flaws and impossibilities, most of which we (as bystanders) are bound to overlook.

The role of the parents is sketchy but believable, and it is clear that they are at their wits end in dealing with Simon. The only one who can cope with the various difficult situations we witness on screen, is his brother, who can get him back from the imaginary rocket he climbs in when wanting to escape from a situation he cannot deal with. The girl friend of this brother can cope for only a short period, and leaving is the only logical solution for her. But for Simon it is a disastrous move as it breaks down the duty roster with daily household tasks, hence needing a solution forthwith.

A considerable part of the film is devoted in finding a new girl friend for this brother, leading to all sorts of hilarious situations, between the lines illustrating how Asperger patients think. We see Simon translating the girl hunt into an algebraic exercise. He takes the good and bad features his brother mentioned about his ex-girl, much too literal when composing a score card to be used when interviewing possible candidates. Later on, his brother shows that opposites attract (beautifully demonstrated with two magnets), and Simon adjusts the search protocol accordingly.

I was a bit disappointed with the feel good scenes at the end, where Simon went to a lot of trouble while organizing a romantic dinner for this brother. I truly believe that someone like Simon can think of the necessary preparations to get this off the ground, since planning ahead is Standard Operating Procedure for him. But involving and motivating several helpers he needs, is a bit far-fetched. Even worse, it seems impossible for someone with his handicap to deal with complications and unexpected problems that cannot be avoided with such an undertaking.

All in all, the insight it gave us in the minds of people like Simon, is an important feature of this film. In many aspects it does remind us of Jim Parsons aka Dr. Sheldon Cooper and his tendency towards rigorous routines and protocols. On the other hand, I suspect some simplifications about Asperger patients in interaction with their family and friends, and also in his apparent success in organizing the romantic dinner for this brother. I scored a 4 (out of 5) for the audience award when leaving the theater.

This film is about a young man with Asperger's syndrome trying to find a girlfriend for his brother, as the brother's girlfriend cannot tolerate his apparent eccentricity.

"Simple Simon" is a pleasant surprise. It offers accurate insight into how the mind of a person with Asperger's syndrome works. The rigid routine of Simon is comical and delightfully portrayed, helped by the on screen texts and diagrams, and the huge wheel in Simon's bedroom detailing his daily routine. The characters are very human, Sam is loving and caring, while Jennifer is tolerant and accepting. We see subtle changes in Simon too, leading to a happy ending. I think "Simple Simon" will help people to understand Asperger's syndrome, and hopefully help people to be tolerant, understanding and accepting about people with Asperger's syndrome.

It is a warm feel good movie, but it is worth noted that is has divided the Swedish Asperger community in half. Since Simon is fairly exaggerated and has every possible Asperger's trait most of us do regard him at almost a pure autistic level. At least almost.

Many who don't recognize him at all in themselves have claimed to outright hate the movie, and fear that it will contribute even more to spread erratic views on what Asperger's is and what can be expected from an aspie, based on some of the more not so nice things Simon do in the movie to complete strangers.

Myself, I agree on that the picturing of Asperger's in the movie follows a trend these days that only the aspies with very obvious treats of the syndrome are the ones shown in media instances, while most of us aspies in real life do look fairly normal to the surrounding world and are very used to hear "Oh, do you have Asperger's syndrome? I would never have thought so!" every so often.

On the other hand, there is another character in the movie, who feels very much more like a fairly normal aspie of the kind I know and have met a couple of hundred of in real life... - someone who rambles on and on in a couple of scenes about his special interest without even being quite sure anyone is listening.

And I have met aspies with each and every one of Simon's AS traits, just not ever all of them at the same time, nor so many of them. I would not say that an Aspergers's diagnose on someone like Simon would be outright plain wrong. It is a wide spectrum! All this being said, the movie is a warm and nice story about the love between two brothers. An aspie or someone else with knowledge should be prepared for maybe not liking the portrayal of the syndrome.

And Cecilia Forss is outstanding in the role of Jennifer!

Even before Andreas Öhman's "I rymden finns inga känslor" (called "Simple Simon" in English) identified its protagonist as someone with Asperger's, I noticed that he displayed a number of the characteristics: intense focus on a topic, awkward communication, and preference for structured, unchanging schedules. Sweden's submission to the 83 Academy Awards does an excellent job depicting Asperger's without turning it into a joke, although it does manage to be funny. With his role as Simon here and his role as Pennywise in last year's "It", Bill Skarsgård is showing himself to be a fine thespian. I recommend it.

PS: keep watching after the credits.

A warm, funny and emotional story of 18-year-old Simon (Bill Skarsgård), who has Asperger's Syndrome and want life to be punctuated exactly the same day after day, week after week. It includes everything from meals to activities. He shares the apartment with the more boisterous brother Sam (Martin Wallström), but when his girlfriend (Sophie Hamilton) breaks up, Simons life crashes together. His habitual security is gone. He needs to find a new girlfriend for his brother. How do you do? Can you have a girlfriend audition for his brother? May sound a little weird, but ... the filmmakers stitch together all the different elements to a mixture of romantic comedy drama about two brothers, friendship and warm description of an outsider. With Cecilia Forss in a colorful supporting role. The film was Sweden's Oscar nomination and was almost nominated. It was eliminated at the finish line. Director Andreas Öhman's other film "Bitch Hug" was on the cinema this fall.