The Reason I Jump (2020)

[CelestialAgent]

Picturehouse Entertainment will released on Blu-ray the documentary expansion/adaptation of Naoki Higashida's non-fiction book on life as a nonverbal autistic child.

Based on the bestselling book by Naoki Higashida, THE REASON I JUMP is an immersive cinematic exploration of neurodiversity through the experiences of nonspeaking autistic people from around the world. The film blends Higashida’s revelatory descriptions of his autism, written when he was just 13, with intimate portraits of five remarkable young people. It opens a window into an intense and overwhelming, but often joyful, sensory universe.

Acutely observed moments in the lives of each of the characters are connected by passages from Naoki’s writing, in which a young Japanese boy journeys through an epic landscape, gradually discovering what his autism means to him, how his perception of the world differs, and why he acts in the way he does: the reason he jumps.

The film distils these elements into a sensually rich tapestry that leads us to Naoki’s core message: not being able to speak does not mean there is nothing to say.

As an autistic person myself I would say the film is more aimed at neurotypical audiences than an autistic one but it definitely still has value.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Reason-...dp/B097QJMDNR/

[Foggy]

I caught an online preview screening and it’s one of those films that’s incredibly important but I wouldn’t really return to often. Hopefully with this release it finds a broader audience.

[CelestialAgent]

It might be good for educational/teaching spaces perhaps. As with most other Picturehouse I don’t think it was an especially wide release so plenty of people who wanted to see it when it came out might not have been able to.