Yesterday evening I had the pleasure to taste how it feels like when people with impairments are visible in a movie, in an ordinary way, without being the center of the story. I told you before, in the article « Etre visible pour rendre accessible » , that I believe this is, to me, one of the important keys to making disabilities appear less and less extraordinary. Guys, let me give you a glimpse into this movie!

Let me start by saying this… I always fall for weird movies, they are my favorite, movies with a special type of humor, a dark one most of the time. When they are not humoristic, I like it to be psychologically challenging, not obvious. I also go for dramatically romantic movies… totally… I fall for the kind of movies that could have in their soundtrack Roo Panes , John Legend or Ed Sheeran songs, but I ask one thing « Being surprised » . Well, like in real life, I would love love love to be surprised by a wonderful day, in my lovely Belgium, without meeting a broken lift, ramp, etc.

Back to the movie « Little monsters » … what brought me to watch the trailer of that movie first is the actress Lupita Nyongo. I have heard of and seen some of the movies she worked into but not this one, so I was curious. Then I saw the topic, zombies, and I was like « Hmm nope! Not my cup of tea…  » . I am very specific about the movies I like, some might say, somewhat judgy… and I kept on watching the trailer. In general, when I watch the trailer until the end, that means I am not interested enough to watch the movie. But then, at 0:53 something shifted when Lupita N., the teacher is trying to hide with the kids, Josh Gad says « Go away! » she is so scared because the zombies are behind them, and she explains that there are kids out there… He comes to the glass of the door and says « Oh my God…  » and adds « I don’t give a s***! » . That is the moment they got all my attention, I did not need to watch more of the trailer.

The cast is really diverse in terms of gender, skin color, and shape. But what surprised me and left me speechless is the presence of few real people with impairments. FOR REAL REAL REAL… And to me, that makes this movie great. I was really moved and excited by that. At different times, you can see, for example, a little boy moving around with a walker, a man in a wheelchair, or a teenager or man who seems to have Down’s syndrome… Other than that, what makes this movie so delicious is also the fact that it touches on some interesting topics such as the complexity of relationships, taking people for granted, or the frustration of not being professionally accomplished for instance …

This movie is a combination of horror and fun, so it is not scary, although it is certainly not kids or teenagers appropriate. I don’t cope well with horror movies, so trust me when I say that it is not frightening… but if you don’t cope well with the sight of blood in movies or the sound of eating violently into the meat, then it is not the right movie for you.

I hope you watched it or will, after reading this. That would be great to read what you think of it. Oh! One more thing… This movie also introduced me to Alexander England who I find veeery charming, in movement.

Take care of yourselves and your loved ones, as usual!

Petit Cyborg

Image: prt sc Youtube