So what's Sam's story?


Why'd he get dumped off on his cousin? Did his mother send him away or what? Of course we don't know, but I'm curious and would like to get other people's opinions. Why exactly do you think he is the way he is?

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Sam's story? Does he need one? I think Sam is his own story. Absolutely brilliant character!

Why exactly do you think he is the way he is?

Maybe because he's an artist?

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[deleted]

its very hard for someone with Asperger's Syndrome to the degree Sam seems to have to get a job,so they wind up staying at home with their parents till they get too stir crazy. if they are lucky, they might be able to get an apartment if they are on SSI, otherwise they would do as Sam did, drift from one crashpad to another.

~*~~*~

"Ooh!Pass the popcorn! This is gonna be good!"

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If anything I would think Joon is the one with Asperger's...not Sam.

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As the mother of a child with autism, I wonder why it's assumed Sam had Aspeger's. Was that suggeated by someone involved with the film?

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As a mother of a child with Asperger's, I can totally relate to the comparisons. It is very clear to me :-)

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It's kind of OK that he's this dreamer who doesn't really have any social skills or ambition because he's very handsome. If he were ugly or plain he would be some obsessive man-child loser character. He did clean up the house though, which was useful. He had to do something, somewhere to earn his keep.

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"Love means never having to say you're ugly." - the Abominable Dr. Phibes

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Exactly this.

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That was one of my strongest feelings when I finished watching this movie for the first time. I wanted to know more about Sam.

But I think they kept him a bit of a mystery on purpose.

______
Blessed are the legend-makers with their rhyme
of things not found within recorded time.

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I doubt it is either autism or Asperger syndrome. His affective feelings look OK, but he seems slightly retarded intellectually. He also could have been neglected by family and lacked any school education, which could explain part of his difficulties in the real world. School is mandatory for a reason. Actually he looked more normal the more he interacted with Joon and her family.
At least in the beginning he displayed some obsessive/compulsive traits, but unsupported later in the movie.
There is no sure diagnosis for Joon either. At least in her case they showed a close to psychotic episode in the buss. But the link to the car accident where her parents died could also show a PTS/anxiety disorder. I am quite sure they didn't want a clear disease, just people that did not fit the accepted normal. Actually the more the movie progressed the sick subjects look better, and Benny looked quite troubled, though he represented the healthy side. Actually Benny is more affected in his social life when compared to Sam and Joon.
It's a beautiful, neglected movie.

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It appears that Sam is probably dyslexic (unable to complete a job application), but we don't know for sure whether he is on the autism spectrum. I happen to see many similarities between Sam and my son who has asperger's. My son finds it difficult to interact socially and have normal conversations with people, but he is highly intelligent and fixates on certain topics in which his mind is like an encyclopedia. Sam seems to fixate on movies to the point where he has the dialogue memorized.

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best movie song ever 500 miles still want to dance when hear it

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