Films with theme "Films about autism", sorted by name

, 1h28
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, Thriller
Themes Medical-themed films, Films about psychiatry, Films about disabilities, Films about autism, Children's films
Actors Dakota Blue Richards, Juliet Stevenson, David Haig, Saffron Coomber, Di Botcher, Lucy Hutchinson

On April's fourteenth birthday, Marion, her adoptive mother, gives her earrings, not the mobile phone she wanted. They argue, and April leaves for school. After lying to her friends, claiming she has a phone and is going to the dentist's, April chooses to play truant. While at work at a stately home, Marion hears that April has not arrived at school. She talks to her friend and colleague Elliot, who unsuccessfully tries to dissuade her from leaving. April visits the home of Pat Williams, who cared for her as a baby. Pat remembers April and gives her a newspaper cutting telling the story of her discovery as a baby in a dustbin behind a pizza parlour. In a flashback, a young April is seen living with Janet and Daniel Johnson. The Johnsons' relationship is an abusive one, leading to Janet's suicide. Meanwhile, Marion goes to April's school, where she talks to April's friends, and realises that they were lied to. April then leaves Pat's home, and travels alone to Janet's grave. Marion continues to search, and, in a shopping centre, meets Elliot, who has joined her. April then visits the now abandoned Sunnyholme Children's Home, where she lived when she was younger. In a flashback, an eight-year old April lives at the Sunnyholme. Cared for by a woman named Mo, April befriends an older girl called Gina and is introduced to Pearl, a girl of her age. Pearl behaves in front of Mo, but actually bullies April. Gina wakes April one night to involve her in a burglary, and, later, Pearl attacks April, holding her head under water, and then tears up April's beloved paper dolls. April confronts Pearl, who she pushes down a flight of stairs, and is reprimanded by Mo. A voice-over from 14-year-old April says Gina was then "moved on", and, eventually, April is also moved on.

, 1h25
Directed by Sandrine Bonnaire
Origin France
Genres Documentary
Themes L'adolescence, Films about education, Films about children, Medical-themed films, Documentary films about health care, Films about psychiatry, Films about disabilities, Films about autism, Films about school violence
Actors Sandrine Bonnaire

Sandrine Bonnaire a filmé en 2006 et 2007 sa sœur cadette Sabine, 38 ans, dans la structure d'accueil, en Charente, où elle vit avec quatre autres résidents et deux éducateurs permanents. Des extraits de films tournés dans l'adolescence et la jeunesse de Sabine montrent cette jeune fille « différente », déscolarisée après l'âge de 12 ans. Au collège, elle a réagi aux moqueries des petits garçons d'école primaire et des filles de sa classe et de tous ceux qui l'appelaient « Sabine la folle » en se blessant, se mordant, se griffant ou se déshabillant dans la cour.

, 1h29
Directed by Petter Næss
Origin Norvege
Genres Drama, Comedy, Comedy-drama
Themes Medical-themed films, Films about psychiatry, Films about disabilities, Films about autism
Actors Jørgen Langhelle

The movie deals with the main character, Elling, a man with generalized anxiety in his 40s, and his struggle to function normally in society. He suffers from anxiety, dizziness, and neurotic tendencies, preventing him from living on his own. Elling has lived with his mother for his entire life, and when his mother dies, the authorities take him from the apartment where he has always lived and send him to an institution. His roommate is the simpleminded, sex-obsessed Kjell Bjarne. The Norwegian government pays for the two to move into an apartment in Oslo, where every day is a challenge as they must prove they can get out into the real world and lead relatively normal lives. With the help of social worker Frank and a few new friends, they learn to break free from their respective conditions.

Origin USA
Genres Drama
Themes Films about children, Medical-themed films, Transport films, Films about psychiatry, Films about disabilities, Road movies, Films about autism, Films about child abuse
Actors Rosanna Arquette, Jesse James, Devon Graye, Leo Rossi, Dee Wallace, Christopher Atkins

Set in 1974, the film centers on three siblings from Texas — Kenneth (Jesse James), Charlotte (Adrien Finkel), and Dana Minor (Devon Graye) — who are left living with their abusive, alcoholic mother Marilyn (Rosanna Arquette) after their father's death. Marilyn commits Dana, who is autistic, to an institution, allowing doctors to perform medical experiments on him. Kenneth and Charlotte break their younger brother out of the asylum, and the three siblings set out on a road trip, intending to travel from Texas to their grandmother's home in Oregon. They are joined by a hippie named Travis (Alexander Carroll).

, 2h9
Directed by Stephen Daldry
Origin USA
Genres Drama
Themes Films based on the September 11 attacks, Films about children, Films about families, Medical-themed films, Films about terrorism, Transport films, Aviation films, Films about psychiatry, Films about disabilities, Dans un avion, Films about autism, Disaster films, Films about hijackings
Actors Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock, Thomas Horn, Max von Sydow, Viola Davis, John Goodman

Nine-year-old Oskar Schell (Thomas Horn) is the son of German American Thomas Schell (Tom Hanks). Thomas would often send Oskar on missions to do something involving one of his riddles. The last riddle he ever gives Oskar is proof that New York City once possessed a Sixth Borough. In a flashback, Thomas and Oskar play a scavenger hunt to find objects throughout New York City. The game requires communication with other people and is not easy for the socially awkward Oskar who is told "If things were easy to find, they wouldn't be worth finding".

, 3h3
Directed by Philip Saville
Origin USA
Genres Drama
Themes Medical-themed films, Films about psychiatry, Films about disabilities, Films about autism
Actors Anjelica Huston, Sam Neill, Kyra Sedgwick, Dermot Mulroney, Lindsay G. Merrithew, Laura Bertram

The film opens with Nina Eberlin (Kyra Sedgwick), the fourth in a family of six children, going to visit her divorced parents. Looking at some old photographs, she begins to tell the story of how her parents, Lainey (Anjelica Huston) and David (Sam Neill), learned that her younger brother Randall (Jamie Harrold) had autism, and how the stress that this placed on them eventually lead to the breakdown of their marriage.

, 1h20
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Romance
Themes Medical-themed films, Films about psychiatry, Films about disabilities, Films about autism
Actors Beth Broderick, Ashley Rickards, Greg Germann, JR Bourne

Jeanne (Beth Broderick) is awakened by crying from her autistic teenage daughter Mandy (Ashley Rickards).

, 2h22
Directed by Robert Zemeckis
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Comedy, Comedy-drama, Romance
Themes L'adolescence, Military humor in film, Films about education, Films about children, Films about families, Medical-themed films, Politique, Films about sexuality, Sports films, L'enfance marginalisée, Films about psychiatry, Films about disabilities, Political films, Films about autism, Films about school violence, HIV/AIDS in film, White House in fiction
Actors Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise, Mykelti Williamson, Sally Field, Haley Joel Osment

In 1981, Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks), a man with below-average intelligence, watches a feather fall from the sky at a bus stop in Savannah, Georgia. As he sits down on a bench, he removes a copy of The Adventures of Curious George from his suitcase and places the feather inside the pages. He introduces himself and begins telling his life story to strangers who sit next to him on the bench, recounting his childhood in Greenbow, Alabama. As a child in the 1950s, Forrest (Michael Connor Humphreys) had to wear leg braces for which other children make fun of him. He lives with his single mother (Sally Field) in a very large house outside of town, which they rent rooms to travelers. His father apparently left and he never knew him. Despite his limited mental capacity, Mrs. Gump tells her son that "stupid is as stupid does" (which he later uses as a retort when called "stupid") and also assures him that he is no different from any of the other children. Forrest is admitted to public school despite his IQ being below the cut-off, but only after his mother agrees to a one-night stand with the principal, Mr. Hancock (Sam Anderson). On his first bus ride to school, Forrest is rejected by nearly all of his peers except for Jenny Curran (Hanna R. Hall). He and Jenny become best friends, and he helps her hide from her abusive, alcoholic father. One day, while fleeing from bullies, Forrest's leg braces break apart and he discovers that he can run very fast. A few years later, Forrest inadvertently runs onto the field during a local high school football match and catches the attention of Coach Bryant from the University of Alabama who is scouting for players. Forrest attends the university on an athletic scholarship and becomes a college football star, earning him a spot on the College Football All-America Team and a trip to the White House to meet President John F.

, 1h33
Directed by Jaume Balagueró
Origin Espagne
Genres Thriller, Horror
Themes Medical-themed films, Ghost films, Films about psychiatry, Films about disabilities, Films about autism
Actors Calista Flockhart, Elena Anaya, Richard Roxburgh, Colin McFarlane, Gemma Jones, Ivana Baquero

On the Isle of Wight, just off the South Coast of England, a train accident means that the main hospital is completely full and is unable to take in any more patients. The smaller and older hospital, Mercy Falls which is more isolated, is being closed down however this accident means that some of the patients, including the childrens ward, need to remain at the site until there is availability elsewhere. The hospital has three floors with the children's ward on the first floor. The second floor was closed off twenty years before and is unaccessable due to the elevator buttons being disabled and the stairs blocked off.

, 1h58
Directed by Lasse Hallström
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Comedy, Comedy-drama, Romance
Themes L'adolescence, Films about education, Films about children, Films about families, Medical-themed films, Films about psychiatry, Films about disabilities, Films about autism, Films about school violence
Actors Johnny Depp, Juliette Lewis, Mary Steenburgen, Leonardo DiCaprio, John C. Reilly, Darlene Cates

In the small town of Endora, Iowa, Gilbert Grape (Johnny Depp) is busy caring for Arnie (Leonardo DiCaprio), his brother with a developmental disability, as they wait for the many tourists' trailers to pass through town during their "yearly ritual" of camping at a nearby recreational area. His mother, Bonnie (Darlene Cates), gave up on life after her husband hanged himself seventeen years earlier. She spends almost all of her time on the couch watching TV. With Bonnie unable to care for her children on her own due to her morbid obesity, Gilbert has taken responsibility for repairing the old house and looking after Arnie, who has a habit of climbing the town water tower, while his sisters Amy and Ellen do the rest. The relationship between the brothers is of both care and protection, as Gilbert continually enforces the "nobody touches Arnie" policy. A new FoodLand supermarket has opened, threatening the small Lamson's Grocery where Gilbert works. In addition, Gilbert is having an affair with a married woman, Betty Carver (Mary Steenburgen).

Genres Drama
Themes Medical-themed films, Films about psychiatry, Films about disabilities, Films about autism
Actors Mitzi Kapture, Tim Thomerson, John Saxon, Chris Engen

Genres Drama
Themes Medical-themed films, Films about psychiatry, Films about disabilities, Films about autism
Actors Kishore, Sneha, Pradeep Rawat, Soori, யூகி சேது Yugi Sethu

Sivadas (Kishore) the daring cop who gets ruthless against the local goon Aadhi (Pradeep Rawat) and is just miles away from nabbing the crook. He has a driver named Kundasamy. However he is forced to leave the force for a while to take care of his autistic son, Haridas (Prithviraj Das) because of an unfortunate matter. With much difficulty he enrolls Haridas in a normal school where Amudhavalli (Sneha) is a teacher specialized to deal with special children.

, 1h30
Directed by Tim Fywell
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, Documentary
Themes Medical-themed films, Films about psychiatry, Films about disabilities, Films about autism
Actors Hugh Bonneville, Juliet Stevenson, Andrew Woodall, Todd Boyce, Felicity Montagu, Adrian Rawlins

, 1h27
Origin Canada
Genres Drama
Themes Medical-themed films, Films about psychiatry, Films about disabilities, Films about autism
Actors Gary Farmer, Margot Kidder, Robert Joy, Joan Orenstein, Eric Peterson, David Cronenberg

Set during the Great Depression, the film centers on an unlikely friendship that forms between Henry (Gary Farmer), an autistic adult with a childlike spirit, and his nine-year-old nephew Verlin (Keegan MacIntosh), who is also autistic. Henry helps Verlin to come out of his shell, but Verlin's mother mistrusts him, believing him to be dangerous. Henry's family eventually decides to institutionalize him and Verlin sinks back into himself at the sudden loss of his friend.

, 1h54
Directed by Éric Toledano, Olivier Nakache
Origin France
Genres Drama, Comedy, Comedy-drama
Themes Medical-themed films, Films about psychiatry, Films about disabilities, Films about autism
Actors Vincent Cassel, Reda Kateb, Hélène Vincent, Alban Ivanov, Christian Benedetti, Catherine Mouchet

Bruno et Malik sont les responsables de La Voix des Justes et de L'Escale, deux associations respectives qui œuvrent depuis 20 ans dans le monde des enfants et adolescents autistes qu'ils aident de leur mieux. Ils forment également des jeunes issus de quartiers difficiles, pour encadrer ces cas « complexes », que les structures médicales refusent. L'association de Bruno est cependant dans le viseur de l'Inspection générale des affaires sociales.