Bass Clef Bliss
African-American Mother and Son’s Adjustment to Autism Chronicled in Inspirational Film
Bass Clef Bliss
In Theaters: Apr 17, 2015 Wide
Unrated
Running time: 70
minutes
Genre: Documentary
Directed By: Patrick Scott
Written By:
Michael Berlin
Distributor: BKLYN2LA Productions / Drama House
Productions
Film Review by Kam Williams
Excellent (★★★★)
Before Terrence Partridge turned 2, his parents first noticed an arrest
in his development of age-appropriate social skills. In fact, he actually
started regressing soon thereafter, as words he had already been using began
to disappear from his vocabulary.
But it would still be a couple
more years before they would receive the devastating diagnosis that their
son was autistic. Unfortunately, the marriage would not last, as is so often
the case with families touched by this affliction, and the burden of raising
Terrence alone would end up falling entirely on his mother Therese’s
shoulders.
Since early intervention can be critical in a kid’s
prognosis, he was lucky she committed herself to giving him the love and
support of even more than two parents. And she resolved to become an expert
in autism, since it can manifests in myriad ways, making what might be a
viable protocol for one child, totally inappropriate for another.
In
Terrence’s case, he exhibited an early interest in music, being among the 1
in 10,000 people blessed with perfect pitch. His attentive mom recognized
his talent which she proceeded to cultivate with the help of Louise Titlow,
his trombone instructor. Under his patient teacher’s tutelage, the boy
blossomed into a promising prodigy to the point where he would one day play
in San Diego’s New Youth Classical Orchestra as well as jazz in a combo led
by trumpeter Gilbert Castllanos.
Louise modestly explains away her
student’s seemingly miraculous achievements with, “All it takes with
Terrence or any autistic child is a little bit more love, a little more
time, and a little more faith.” Perhaps of greater significance is her
further assertion that, “He can be an angel of healing self-expression
through music, and heal others as he’s uplifting himself.”
Directed
by Patrick Scott, Bass Clef Bliss is an alternately heartrending and
uplifting biopic chronicling the tight bond between a mother and son as
together they confront an assortment of daunting challenges associated with
autism. Scott makes a most impressive debut here, as he oh so delicately
balances the access he was afforded to his subjects ‘daily lives with their
plausible concerns about personal privacy.
Besides focusing on
Terrence and Therese’s trials, tribulations and ultimate triumphs, this
informative documentary features a cornucopia of facts and figures about
autism, courtesy of both experts and anecdotal evidence. Did you know that
in 1985, 1 in 2,500 babies developed the disorder, and that today the number
is about 1 in 68?
Thus, autism is now, effectively, universal in
nature which makes a labor of love like Bass Clef Bliss certain to resonate
deeply with any spiritually-inclined soul compassionately attuned to other
than self.