Film
Deej
Deej follows DJ Savarese, a nonspeaking autistic writer and poet, through his fight for education and recognition. Robert Rooy's documentary is intimate and unhurried, letting Deej's typed words and fierce intelligence do the talking. It's for anyone willing to question their assumptions about communication, capability, and what a meaningful life looks like.
If you liked this
Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution2020
Exhilarating documentary about disabled activists who built a movement. Shows how people written off by society become architects of their own futures. Urgently watchable.
But Covers a lot of ground across decades, so some threads move quickly. Heavy subject matter throughout.
The Reason I Jump2020
Explores nonverbal autism through the eyes of a Japanese teenager using AAC devices. Visually inventive and tender. Gets at the rich inner life beneath apparent silence.
But Subtitled and poetic, so it moves at its own pace. Not conventionally narrative.
Murderball2005
Documentary about wheelchair rugby that's genuinely thrilling. Challenges every tired assumption about disability and human capability in ninety minutes flat.
But More conventionally entertaining than reflective. Focuses on sport rather than identity or systemic change.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Deej
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
Code of Silence1985
Both ask what's lost when we don't listen to people outside the norm. Deej uses language to claim space; here, silence becomes a kind of power.
Thriller about a deaf-mute murder witness navigating a corrupt police system. High-concept action film where the protagonist's deafness isn't inspiration porn—it's simply who they are, and it matters tactically to the plot.
But Eighties action cheese. Stilted performances. Functional rather than subtle.
More like this (6)
Autism in Love2015
Follows autistic people navigating relationships and intimacy. Funny, awkward, tender, real. Treats its subjects as fully formed human beings with desires and agency.
But Low budget and quietly paced. Won't satisfy anyone looking for dramatic narrative arc.
The Andy Warhol Diaries2022
Animated adaptation of Warhol's vast written archive. Deej's typed words remind us that written communication can be as vivid and revealing as any spoken diary ever was.
But Some episodes drag. Animation style won't appeal to everyone.
My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown1989
Daniel Day-Lewis in a searing performance as Christy Brown, an Irish painter and writer born with cerebral palsy. Shows a complex, difficult, brilliant person refusing to be defined by his condition.
But Emotionally taxing. Some depictions of Brown's life and relationships are harsh.
Ride On2023
Sylvester Stallone as an aging stuntman. Not about disability, but about invisible people doing essential work and fighting for dignity and recognition—a parallel music to what Deej does.
But Genre exercise masquerading as substance. Sentimental in ways that don't earn it.
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind2019
True story of a young Malawian boy who builds an irrigation system from scrap. About ingenuity, persistence, and being underestimated. Smaller story, big resonance.
But Straightforward biopic. Doesn't reinvent the form or offer particular stylistic surprises.
The Strange Thing About the Johnsons2011
Both refuse the comfort of easy narratives about disability, difference, or identity. Both trust the audience to sit with discomfort.
Ari Aster's confrontational short (about an hour) on dysfunction and family violence, written and performed by Black actors. Asks unbearable questions about complicity and what we owe to people we love. Unforgettable.
But Deliberately provocative and deeply upsetting. Some viewers find it exploitative; others see necessary confrontation. Not a pleasure watch.
People
Cast
- David James SavareseHimself
Directing
- Robert RooyDirector
Production
- Anne de MareCo-Producer
- Jeanne JordanExecutive Producer
- Steven AscherExecutive Producer
- David James SavareseProducer
- Robert RooyProducer