The Hollywood Reporter review:
PARK CITY -- It’s hard not to be moved when the strapping 25-year-old filmmaker Jason DaSilva goes
down — literally — on the beach during a family vacation. He had been
diagnosed with multiple sclerosis the year before, but until he fell and
couldn’t get up, it wasn’t a reality for him. When I Walk is
the film he made chronicling his steady decline. The arc and uplift of
the story might be familiar, but thanks to DaSilva’s magnetism and
skillful direction, this is way more than a conventional weeper. For an
audience willing to go there, perhaps on PBS or a niche cable network,
it’s a satisfying and worthwhile journey.
Before being stricken, DaSilva had directed short documentaries all
around the world and had lived something of a charmed life as the son of
a seemingly well-to-do family of Indian descent. In order to keep
himself going and keep his mind off the inevitable consequences of his
illness, he decided to do what he always did -- make a film. The cruel
twist of fate that befalls him is by no means a happy story and to his
credit, he doesn’t sugarcoat it, but his triumphs and failures are
universal. As his no-nonsense mother is fast to remind him, we are all
only here for a very short time and must do the best we can. Learning to
do that with an unbreakable spirit is DaSilva's victory and the
strength of the film.
To keep things lively and not turn morbid, DaSilva came up with a
number of clever visual strategies. Playful black-and-white animation,
which he uses throughout, dramatizes the war white blood cells are
fighting in his body, devouring his once-healthy nerve endings. At first
he’s in denial, thinking that a vigorous exercise regimen will buy him
time. Unfortunately, it doesn’t, and before long walking becomes an
ordeal leading to new challenges. When he gets a scooter to move around
the East Village, where he lives before moving to Brooklyn, he adapts
and films scurrying low angle shots from that perspective.
Hoping to find some answers, both physical and spiritual, he goes to
India and seeks out yoga and meditation instruction. But it doesn’t
help. He struggles to dress himself, and his vision becomes blurred. His
favorite grandmother finances a trip to Lourdes, but a miracle does not
happen, at least not the way he expected.
As things get worse, his ever-realistic mother tells him that we are
all ultimately alone in life, and DaSilva despairs that he will end his
days like that. And then he meets Alice Cook, who
gradually becomes his soulmate. In one of the film’s most moving scenes,
they exchange vows in a small ceremony in a city park and put a "Just
Married" sign on his scooter. It’s that kind of humor that helps elevate
the material.
Alice is a breath of fresh air not only for DaSilva, but for the
film as well. Good-natured without being immune to melt-downs, she not
only cares for her husband but also picks up some of the filmmaking
responsibilities, contributing to the brisk editing and making the
project a true partnership.
And then the miracle does happen — Alice becomes pregnant, much to
the delight of the parents-to-be. Given the circumstances, it’s a joyous
ending. Life goes on, and, as DaSilva so gallantly demonstrates, for
that we can all be grateful.
Production Companies: In Face Films
Director: Jason DaSilva
Screenwriter: Jason DaSilva, Alice Cook
Producers: Jason DaSilva, Alice Cook
Executive producers: Stanley Nelson, Yael Melamede, Lydia Dean-Pilcher
Directors of photography: Leigh DaSilva, Karin Hayes, Alice Cook
Music: Jeff Beal
Editor: Jason DaSilva, Alice Cook
No rating, 80 minutes
