Come As You Are (Hasta La Vista) is a new, feel good film about three young men who are all disabled in some way. We thought we should bring it to everyone’s attention because the film has been widely acclaimed for dealing with disability in a way that is thought provoking and has been challenging people’s preconceptions. Rather than a miserable story about somebody being ‘confined to a wheelchair’ this is a warm-hearted and funny comedy.
Strangely enough, despite the title being a mix of English and Spanish, the film is actually Belgian and is in Flemish with English subtitles. The plot revolves around these three less able men going on a road trip to a brothel in Spain which they’ve heard specialises in services for the physically disabled. All three men are virgins and see this brothel as their only opportunity to lose their virginity.
Philip (played by Robrecht Vanden Thoren), who is paralysed from the neck down,and his two friends, partially sighted Josef (Tom Audenaert) and Lars (Gilles De Schrijver), who has a dangerously large brain tumour which means he uses a wheelchair, are all driven to Spain by Claude, an overweight ex-midwife who can’t speak their language. It’s an atypical road movie – it’s about young men, obsessed with sex, for whom nothing goes quite to plan but there is the added element that all the main characters are disabled.
The Huffington Post described Come As You Are as “a story about love, unconditional friendship and lust. A story about humour as the only means to overcome painful situations.” Familiar topics for the real-life less able but all too often an alien idea when it comes to how disability is portrayed in films.
There’s lots of laughs but also a fair share of more poignant moments too. It’s brilliant and unusual to see a film with less able characters that are three dimensional rather than just a body in a wheelchair. It’s even more unusual to see characters like that in a comedy: having fun, getting drunk, talking about sex and just being normal people.
As a review in Total Film Magazine said: “The subject matter is ripe for crass gags or patronising sentimentality but succumbs to neither.” Similarly to The Sessions, which came out earlier in the year, the film takes a refreshing approach to portrayal of the less able on screen and should be well worth seeking out.
This is definitely not your stereotypical Hollywood blockbuster so it’s unlikely to be on at many big, multiplex cinemas (although VUE cinemas do have screenings). It’s more likely that anyone interested in seeing it will have to track it down in their local independent cinema. This may be a problem since smaller, local cinemas tend not to have as good access as at the big chains. The movie’s website helpfully shows that these cinemas are showing the film. If you live near one of them then you’re potentially in luck – it would seem strange to show a movie with disabled protagonists anywhere inaccessible.
The Radio Times described Come As You Are as “Warmly humorous. Thoroughly uplifting. A true treat, and early contender for feelgood film of the year.” It’s a well acted, well made film with realistic less able heroes. It definitely sounds like it’s a bit of a must-see. The characters even show a little bit of Blue Badge Style by not letting their disabilities get in the way of doing what they want!
