Films about disabilities
I rewatched Lee Chang-dong's Oasis (2002) this evening. The character Han Gong-ju suffers from cerebral palsy and the loneliness I imagine her to be feeling is killing me.
In Oasis, there is also the character Hong Jong-du, who is mildly mentally disabled. There is a scene where he approaches two young girls from behind with a grin on his face, asking them for money and they look at him weirdly and walk away. On both viewings this scene has really shook me, because the way the girls act is how they are excepted to act. And how I've acted towards multiple strangers for whom I've had a weird feeling about.
In multiple parts of the film it's mentioned, directly or indirectly, how the two disabled people are a burden for their families and even for the society. When they are locked up in prison or in their tiny apartment, everything is good. Out of sight, out of mind.
And I can see that this general uneasiness towards disabled people is why we practically never see them presented in mainstream film. It's not pleasant so we turn our eyes away.
So what I am asking for is recommendations for films which handle disabilities. Films that have something interesting to say about disabilities and/or films in which a main character has a disability and it's an important part of their character.