A great film and not a great TV show The fact that this film is being considered for Emmies and not Oscars reveals the problem with adult drama in the US (my native country) today. The years covered by this production, mostly the sixties and early seventies, when autistic people and the role of women were so poorly understood-- and it is an important element in the film that the main character meets rejection because of problems not only with social acceptability but also with those of gender-- in mainstream America, were the golden age for many engaged and dramatically engaging film hits. This kind of cinematic and emotionally-satisfying fare pleased the general public and filled the coffers of the movie studios that now reject practically every intelligent project that comes their way, and actresses like Claire Danes and so many others have to wait years before being offered something that truly suits their talent, and then it is often for the "small" screen. It is no surprise, then, that every contributor to this film seems to recognize the importance of what they are involved with, totally aware of their part in this beautiful tapestry of character acting, intelligent direction, sensitive teleplay writing, graphic design, photography, editing, and sound effects (with reserves for the music which often sounded like a Philip Glass piece being used in a scientific documentary film). This harmonization and the emotional satisfaction it brings about when we are experiencing-- almost living-- the film bring back memories of those sixties and seventies film masterpieces like "The Last Picture Show," "Nashville," "Five Easy Pieces" or "Raging Bull" whose technical and emotional unity created fans of American cinema all over the world and were appreciated by audiences who paid little attention to their "PG" or "R" ratings and turned out in large numbers (of course this feeling that even the seamstresses who stitched the costumes were committed to the message and meaning of the film they were working on is often perceptible in great films from all periods-- be it "Carnival in Flanders" or "Ed Wood"). In the US, what is left of these audiences now have to turn to cable TV or Sundance Festival "Independent" films. In Europe, Hollywood's serious reputation continues to decline as audiences stop expecting American films to be worthwhile. I sincerely hope this film will be viewed in movie theaters as a shared experience among its viewers there: it deserves a theatrical release and will serve as a reminder that American cinema can still be rewarding. In the meantime, let's hope for as many Emmies as possible and thank HBO for continuing to carry the torch for the seriously ailing American popular cinema. Great films like this make us recognize how rare these experiences are nowadays. Maybe in the future Claire Danes, the other actors, the director, and crew members will be "up" for an Oscar after doing more outstanding work for the "big" screen.