Ben X

Film review by Magda Knight

Ben-X is a film about an autistic emo teenager who's bullied at school and retreats to a world to online roleplaying games, aided only by Scarlite, a beautiful princess. But what happens when he meets her in real life? If you like Sigur Ros, Requiem for a Dream, geek references and gut-wrenching lip-chewing tension, it's time to find out more about the darkly intriguing world of Ben-X.

Ben-X is a 2007 film about an autistic boy with emo hair who's addicted to MMPORGs (massive multiplayer online roleplaying games). He gets full-on bullied at school (other kids pull down his trousers and show his noogle on YouTube, nick his mobile phone and force him to swallow ecstasy). Archlord - a fictional online roleplaying game where he is a respected prince - gives him his only safe place to retreat to.

Ben's online backup in this virtual world is Scarlite. In the game she's constantly by his side, a princess to his prince, his character's healer. Scarlite is the only friend Ben X has, but he's never met the real person behind the princess. Who is Scarlite? Could she potentially be a normal and attractive girl, as she claims? Scarlite represents everything that's good about his life - so what would happen if he were ever to meet her in The Real?

One really nice thing about this film is its astute and sensitive handling of gaming. MMPORGs are the most extreme form of gaming invented so far, due to their immersive and addictive qualities. Any gamer should give them a go to see how far a person can take this gaming thing - they're basically time sinks, ideal for someone who wants to run away from life for a few hours and go live somewhere else. Ultimately pointless, sure, but involving and crack-smokingly addictive from the start.

And Ben-X does a great job of handling the world of the MMPORG. It creates cut scenes from an online roleplaying game, Archlord, that smacks of uber-MMPORG WarCraft... and, more interestingly, handles the cross-reality blurring of boundaries very deftly. As the autistic Ben (played by Timmermans) treats his real world as a virtual battle where basic life skills must be earned and learned and adversaries must be conquered, the game's filters overlay onto the film itself in a way that is visually sophisticated, witty and convincing.

One word of warning, though: Ben-X is belgian/dutch. Yes, a foreign film. With dutch subtitles. It was entered for 'Best Foreign Language Film' in the 2007 Academy Awards and failed to receive a nomination, which really ain't fair, because it's quality stuff. And because it's belgian, one of the joys in viewing is deciphering the creatively erratic subtitling. Seriously. Wow. Every now and then, you feel they've invented a whole new language there. It's English, Jim, but not as we know it... The thing to remember is that the occasionally crazy subtitles are actually an extra treat. Subtitled foreign films grip harder than dubbed ones because nothing's been diluted for you, you get the whole raw thing, and this film's subtitling rates up there with All Your Base Are Belong To Us - instant cult classic.

You may be wondering if this film is geeky, considering the subject matter. It is. Hugely. On the surface. The main actor has decked his computer out with painted polystyrene foam to look like an alien mountain, and even the film's title is a reference to the l33t version of the Dutch phrase "(ik) ben niks", meaning "(I) am nothing".

But it's geek with an edge. Like we said, emo haircut. And drugs. And existentialism. And the soundtrack contains the musical talents of Praga Khan, Lords Of Acid, Arno, dEUS, Liam Chan and Sigur Ros.

Oh, and it's based on the true story of a belgian boy who hid from reality in online roleplaying games and eventually committed suicide due to school bullying.

So, to summarise... Ben is different. His life is a universe to itself, where he plays his favourite online computer game Archlord avidly, trying hard to train himself for the real world he lives in. The harsh world of a technical school is for him a daily kind of hell. As the horror of being a daily subject to bullying grows, Ben devises a plan. Then Scarlite comes into his life, the girl he has met in his online game. And that wasn't part of the plan...

If you liked Pi and Requiem for a Dream, two intense non-mainstream films that pride themselves on building an unbelievable tense and addictive atmosphere, then Ben-X will be another film to add to your life's collection. Played grittily and shot starkly, music and subject matter and fine direction by Nic Balthazar combine to make a film that piles on one nail-biting moment after another, drawing you in and leaving you chewing your lip as you wonder what the outcome of the bullying and retreat from life will be. Will Ben-X take down the bullies in an orgy of panicked violence? Will he take his own life?

You'll have to watch the film to find out. Add it to your list.

Editorial note: Director Nic Balthazar has said he's got plans to remake this film for american audiences. That's all very nice, and we're sure it will still be great, but do yourself a favour and see it now. How it was meant to be seen. Buy it here by clicking on the shopping cart: Buy Ben-X.

See more Music, Films, Books, Comics and Video Game Reviews on Mookychick