Netflix Pix: Ben X

So if this is where it has to happen, then this is where it has to happen: I play World of Warcraft, more affectionately known in the gamer community as WoW, or even Warcrack.  If you've been alive for the last 4 years, odds are you've played, are playing, or know someone who plays or has played WoW.  After all, 11 million people can't be wrong.  Or can they?

Ben X is the story of one such mmog (massively multiplayer online game) player, a mildly autistic young Belgian man named Ben.  Ben is severely lacking in the social skills department (as are many in the mmog community), though his autism forces on him a particular type of social disconnection; one that can only be understood by the girl with whom he plays. 

Ben X is a film that shoots for the both the heart and mind in its quest to explore the possibilities/effects/challenges, not only of being autistic in the modern world, but of severe social detachment on the whole.  The journey we take with Ben is merely a snapshot of life at a particular moment in time, which can be frustrating in its claustrophobia.  But then, in utilizing that feeling, first time director Nic Balthazar forces us into a world we can't escape, which makes our eventual vindication (the form of which shall remain for you to witness) all the sweeter.  Added bonus: the performance from Greg Timmermans (Ben) is bloody fabulous.  This week's Netflix pick.

[What the heck is all the fuss about Netflix?  Find out after the jump!]