Ben X
Aroview: A provocative Dutch drama of 21st century teen angst, centred on an Asperger’s Syndrome-afflicted gamer whose addiction to online role-playing begins to merge dangerously with his real life woes.
Programming villains, romance and unforeseeable movie twists into a timely, if pointed commentary on modern youth culture, dir. Balthazar – adapting from his own novel – also builds suspense into the film with its on-edge protagonist and flirtation with headline tragedies of bullying gone too far. Although adopting high school genre tropes a little too liberally, this is a fresh enough take on outcasts and ostracism (in the cyber age) that’s also skillfully and sensitively made.
NZ International Film Festival 2008
DVD Features
Close Relatives