Abuse (1982)

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In this somewhat autobiographical film, director and writer Arthur Bressan brings the issue of child abuse into focus by means of a young film student (Richard Ryder) making a documentary on Thomas Carroll (Raphael Sbarge), lying in a hospital bed because he was beaten and burned by his parents. At… More In this somewhat autobiographical film, director and writer Arthur Bressan brings the issue of child abuse into focus by means of a young film student (Richard Ryder) making a documentary on Thomas Carroll (Raphael Sbarge), lying in a hospital bed because he was beaten and burned by his parents. At first the student cannot break through the teenager's wall of silence, but then Thomas finds out that the student filmmaker is gay just as he is, and the wall crumbles. Statistics promote an awareness of the issue of abuse (200,000 reported beatings and 65,000 reported sexual assaults in 1982), but Bressan lightens up his serious subject by inserting discreet humor at several points throughout. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi