Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

Warning: SPOILER ALERT! :)

Nine year old Oskar doesn't want to come out from under his bed. The phone is ringing & he just wants to escape the schrill, piercing sound. It's his dad calling...again.. It's September 11th, and his dad keeps calling from work... The World Trade Center. Persistently, he keeps asking for someone to pick up...and it's come over the answering machine each time. "is everyone okay?". Again and again, he says, "come on Buddy, I know you can do it.". (or something to that effect). But Oskar won't come out of his wonderfully thought up little cave. Once Oskar's dad had said to him something about collecting something from each decade of the 20th century. That was one of many scavenger hunts this loving father had sent his son on. It was a puzzle, a maze...something filled with ideas and methods for Oskar to chew on. His mother Linda was at work that day....frantically trying to get in touch with her husband.

Anyway, there was one more treasure hunt that Oskar was supposed to go on with his dad. Now, Oskar is determined to finish what his dad started... And he's going on a "hunt" that he never expected. Oskar was snooping around his parent's closet one day when a blue, ceramic vase, slides off a shelf and shatters. What"s left on the floor is a piece of paper and... A key. What on earth does this key fit into? Oskar is quite determined, he must find out! What was his dad trying to say?? This was the treasure hunt the two of them were on before... Well... Oskar's dad had something to tell him, and this may be the only connection (yet unsolved) that these two have left (in a sense).

So every day, Oskar leaves his house with his tambourine. Sometimes the noise is just too much you know... The lights, the traffic, people shouting... When the noise is just too much, Oskar jingles his tambourine, just to bring his world into focus. Sometimes bridges and strange surfaces are a real problem. Okay Oskar, be brave now! He needs to know where that key goes! But how would he find that out? There was a method to this for sure! So Oskar obsessed over every last thing his dad had ever said... Little notes he left, previous treasure maps (maybe there was something Oskar had overlooked). He meticulously categorized names, addresses and the distances he'd need to trek to get there. Maybe Oskar's grandpa could tell him something about his father. But there's a problem...Oskar's grandpa is a complete recluse. He never talks to anyone. Oskar had been told never to even ask about him... But all those rules must be broken now...

Soon Oskar will need to face an emotional avalanche, for which there is no method, no formula... No control.

The character of Oskar is a high functioning autistic. He is very intelligent and passionet, but very jumpy and irritable. He seems to have no patience for the mundane things that others can't figure out. His knowledge of complicated things is extensive, and as sweet as he can be, Oskar is often short tempered and angry. He has trouble understanding why others can't seem to read things the same way he does. But as Oskar's dad had told him: The way that he see's the world is gift.

When I saw, this movie, I was just bawling. I had to wipe my eyes with my shirt. At the time, I knew nothing about Autism or Asperger's Syndrome. I just kept watching the character of Oskar and feeling such a connection to him. He's intense and easily upset; very passionate about a few things... But then. Very childlike. :)

Those Asperger's Syndrome and Autism have sensory issues. Translation: Their five senses are highly sensitive & easily stirred. The smallest of things can cause a sort of sensory overload, giving them a sometimes intense need to hide from, or escape their surroundings. So the title of the movie doesn't only refer to planes hitting the Twin Towers... But the way this intelligent boy feels on a daily basis.