Tyson's Run

Tyson is fifteen and autistic. Until now he has been taught at home; his mother gave the lessons and he has had little contact with the outside. This year he goes to a public school for the first time. His father coaches football at the high school and had always wanted his son to take an interest in sport, but not like this. Tyson starts carrying water for the team. There he meets a runner; the man runs marathons and Tyson is struck by him. He sets himself an aim: he will run a marathon. His father does not believe it. Kim Bass writes and directs. Major Dodson plays Tyson and Amy Smart his mother; Barkhad Abdi is in the cast. The form is family drama and the narrative follows the shape of a sports film. The matter it treats is the father's acceptance; the man does not fail to love his son, he does not know how to be with him, and the film says so directly. The training sections set the structure and running technique is shown in detail. The film has a religious strand and the narrative carries it openly. Its limit is register; the emotional peaks are frequent and some scenes forced. The representation of autism was argued over; some commentators said the character is built on a formula. Who it is for: viewers who like family films and sports drama. Who it is not for: it is predictable, the emotional register high, and the narrative didactic.