Bass Clef Bliss
Bass Clef Bliss
Film Review
by Kam Williams
African-American Mother and Son’s Adjustment to Autism Chronicled in Inspirational
Biopic
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.
Excellent
(4 stars)
Unrated
Running time: 70 minutes
Distributor: BKLYN2LA Productions / Drama House Productions
To see a trailer for Bass
Clef Bliss, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiWffnyp1so
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