The Reason I Jump is an object lesson in turning a book based on a literary conceit into riveting cinema. Naoki Higashida’s slender tome, written when he was just 13, is a collection of 58 questions and answers that convey what it feels like to be autistic. Rather than attempt a literal translation, documentarian Jerry Rothwell interprets and riffs on Higashida’s writing, amplifying the ideas in a way that’s at once impressionistic yet lucid.
Rothwell’s solution to filming Higashida’s seemingly unfilmable book is to channel the author’s thoughts and feelings through the real experiences of young adults living with autism. In India, Amrit pours her frustrations at being unable to verbally communicate with others into vibrant paintings so good that they earn her a solo-gallery show; in the UK, Joss struggles to differentiate between the past and the present, the events of ten years ago feeling as raw and current as contemporary emotions; in Virginia are besties Ben and Emma, who communicate through an alphabet board which gives them time to be more articulate; and, finally, we meet Jestina in Sierra Leone, a superstitious country where ASD is often branded as demonic — many children diagnosed with it are left in the bush, such is the stigma of raising a ‘disabled’ child.
Perhaps Rothwell’s biggest achievement is providing a platform for his subjects without condescension.
Rothwell also paints moving portraits of the resilient, loving parents, from Amrit’s mother Aarti, who admits to having screaming matches with her daughter, to Jeremy Dear and Stevie Lee (who also act as producers) reluctantly putting Josh into a residential school, and Jestina’s parents Mary and Roland, who have started a school to help those in a similar situation.
Around the compelling portraits, Rothwell cuts to images of a young autistic boy (Jim Fujiwara) playing on a beach near a lighthouse as Higashida’s words (co-translated by Cloud Atlas author David Mitchell and his wife K.A. Yoshida, who have an autistic child) are read by Jordan O’Donegan. With great work by cinematographer Ruben Woodin Dechamps and sound designer Nick Ryan, the vignettes, also taking in electricity pylons, bridges and fields of grass, create a kind of sensory overload, subtly replicating the way people on the autistic spectrum often experience the world. But perhaps Rothwell’s biggest achievement is providing a platform for his subjects without condescension. As Ben puts it, “I think we can change the conversation around autism by being part of the conversation.” The Reason I Jump is an important step in that direction.