The Autism Media Channel's WHO KILLED ALEX SPOURDALAKIS? raises some ugly questions

Having now seen a number of documentaries dealing with autism and its discontents, TrustMovies can vouch that the new one titled WHO KILLED ALEX SPOURDALAKIS? is one of the most disturbing of all. A horror story about the kind of medical care dished out by major hospitals and their doctors to patients afflicted with a disease like autism, the movie is less a mystery -- we know from the start who killed the boy in question: his mother (shown below) and his godmother -- than a history, both narrative and visual, of what led up to this murder.

The movie has made that point -- about ignorance and indifference in our medical establishment -- so quietly and effectively that it does not need its ram-the-point-down-our-throats finale. This is unfortunate because the movie will have by that time convinced most of its audience, so going over the top may well undo the good already accomplished. This aside, Who Killed Alex Spourdalakis? is a remarkable document about the lengths a loving mother and godmother will go to save their son (below is the photo of the two at the time of their arrest), and the stupidity of some -- not all -- of the doctors supposedly helping the boy.

Early on, after the onset of autism was diagnosed, Alex's mom placed him on a recommended diet that helped his symptoms enormously. (We've seen this same treatment shown in other documentaries, as well.) Why Alex was ever taken off that diet is not explained to a good enough degree, but once the symptoms began again, there would seem to be no excuse for not putting the boy back on the healthier regimen.

Alex's allergic reactions and inability to handle many of the drugs given him would underscore once again our over-reliance on drug use. In Alex's case, the film soon becomes the anti-prescription-drug movie of all time. Much of the science shown us here is fascinating, as is the degree of connection between autisim and intestinal damage.

The movie points a justified finger in the director of a certain Dr. Berman, chief of Loyola Hospital's pediatric gastroenterology -- who stupidly and heartlessly put psychiatry above the management of Alex's physical pain. When at last, we see a doctor who does the right thing -- and view the results of this -- it's a wonderful respite from the continuing hell-on-earth that Alex and his two moms have suffered.

Other than Alex's mom and godmother, there are other heroes in the movie, too: an autism advocate (above) who come to the defense of the threesome, and doctors (below) who actually know what they are doing and care enough to consequently do the right thing for the boy.

Unfortunately, by the time we reach the end of the story, Alex's mom has grown so weakened in mind and spirit that she appears to be unable to any longer make intelligent decisions. (The doctor she agrees to go with toward the end is clearly the wrong one.) But after seeing what the woman and her son have been through, I doubt you will believe that you could have done much better by the boy.

Who Killed Alex Spourdalakis? -- from disinformation, running only a bit over one hour, and packed with anger-making information and history -- is now available on DVD and VOD. Click here to learn how you can obtain the DVD. For VOD, consult your local cable provider.

WAITING FOR ARMAGEDDON: fundamentalist nut jobs on the march

If ever a movie screamed "religious nuts" at the top of its lungs, that would be WAITING FOR ARMAGEDDON, the absolutely straight-forward documentary from Kate Davis, (below, center) David Heilbroner (below, right) and Franco Sacchi (below, left). And yet this film barely raises its voice. It is content to let speak for itself that branch of the Christian-fundamen-
talist-right that is waiting for, praying for and perhaps helping to bring about a kind of Armageddon or, as they prefer to call it, The Rapture -- in which the world and everyone in it dies. Except, of course, for those who believe in Jesus. "Who wouldn't want the world to be over?" asks one believer. "Who wouldn't want to meet Jesus?" Talk about hubris. Talk about pyrrhic victories. Yikes.

The worst part of all, for this viewer, at least, is that some of these "believers" -- one sweet young, bring-it-on couple -- have jobs cre-
ating our missiles for U.S. warfare and defense. (With all the down-
sizing currently going on, couldn't we perhaps apply it where it does some good?) While the mother and father of another family insist that all things point to the Big A coming soon, two of their children -- teenage daughters -- indicate their belief that it will come, but maybe, uh... not too soon. These poor girls want a life that includes love, marriage and children. And who can blame them?

But, no -- for these folk, any nincompoop quote from The Bible turns every crazy belief, no matter how destructive, into fact. How happy faith can make you! Too bad that faith rarely seems to provide some kind of recognition of all the things we humans share and need in common. No: It has to be instead this consistently divisive, my-way-or-the-highway thinking. And when the movie, briefly, gives a us a quick look at some of the Christian fundamentalist politicians now (or recently) in power, the effect is a stunner.

One on-screen idiot talks about having the best seat in the house to watch the coming destruction of planet earth. Oh, the glee! And then we travel to Israel, where Christians want to get a look at Jerusalem before god has his way with it. It turns out that millions of dollars are raised by the fundamentalist Christian community and given to Israel for its protection against Islam -- which of course Israel happily accepts. We hear from Christians, Jews and Muslims -- each with the same rationale for possessing Jerusalem. They can't all be right, but it seems to occur to no one that they could all be wrong. Perhaps the most dispiriting information we learn is that any peace plan for the middle east is perceived by these people as a plot of the AntiChrist. Maybe they'll stumble upon Lars von Trier's film, have a much-needed epiphany, and go after each other with scissors and shovel! Ooops -- that wasn't very Christian of me, was it. Actually, if you're basing your actions on this fundamentalist version of Jesus' teachings, it pretty much is.

Listening to the stupid drivel spouted by Rapture-believers grows grueling after awhile. And though rational people (a few of which are heard from in the film) can easily dispel these faith-based theories, it is daunting to realize that millions of Americans are guided by this hogwash. One of the more rational speakers in the film explains cogently that the Bible's more apocalyptic books -- Revelations and Daniel, for instance -- were never meant to be scripts for those in power. "That's where the danger arises and the books become a self-fulfilling prophecy of violence and destruction."

Waiting for Armageddon, from First Run Features, debuts today, January 8, in New York at the Cinema Village. Further play dates around the country can be found here.

All photos are courtesy of First Run Features
and are -- with the exception of the ones
of the filmmakers -- from the film itself.