JESUE SANCHEZ-VELEZ IN STAND CLEAR OF THE CLOSING DOORS

PREVIEW. Full review HERE.

Asperger's boy's NYC Sandy, Halloween subway walkabout

The keenly observational little film Stand Clear of the Closing Doors (whose title immediately refers us to the NYC subway system), by New York director Fleischner (Wah Do Dem), may invite comparison, on he basis of its protagonist, with The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mark Haddon's popular and entertaining novel, also about a teenage boy with Asperger's syndrome. The Curious Incident has been adapted for the stage and is being film-adapted by Harry Potter and Spider-Man writer Steve Kloves. But Haddon's story, and the approach to this high-functioning form of autism, is different. The Curious Incident is an inventive detective story in which we pick up clues before the boy, Christopher, does. Stand Clear is a mood piece. Fleischner doesn't enter into his protagonist's head but simply observes him and what he sees from without. The approach is external and audio-visual; the whole film is largely documentary in nature, making seamless use of found events, scenes, and people.

Released in the US by Oscilloscope, the film, an award winner at Tribeca 2013, hits NYC theaters Friday, May 23, 2014.

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©Chris Knipp. Blog: http://chrisknipp.blogspot.com/.