Meet Danny (Chris Bunton), a young man with Down syndrome residing in a foster home. His dream is to become a professional boxer and to work towards this, he practices at his local gym with his stern but loyal trainer John (Jerome Pride). Danny gets many rounds and even a few amateur bouts under his belt before he has an accident with John that leaves Danny injured and John with second thoughts. Undeterred, however, Danny sticks to his goal and meanwhile also finds a potential romance with Ellie (Audrey O'Connor), who also has DS.
Kairos is certainly a well-meaning Aussie film, and kudos to its makers for casting a real Down syndrome performer (the engaging Chris Bunton) in the lead, but its execution really rubbed me the wrong way. Writer-director Paul Barakat insists on making John a seemingly ever-present, non-disabled crucial saviour for Danny on his quest, instead of putting Danny in the driver's seat as an independent hero. As somebody with disability (albeit not DS) I find it deeply demeaning when movies about disability have the protagonist manage to succeed only with a non-disabled character's help; to me that's not much better than when disabled people are villainised in cinema.
Barakat's bland visual style and pacing also don't help, and a couple of dream sequences revert from being incoherent to wise and back again. Plus the supporting cast can only do so much with what are quite underdeveloped characters. Despite its good intentions, Kairos is for me just another uplifting disability drama for non-disabled audiences, trying unsuccessfully to pass for a clarion call for solidarity and change. 6/10.
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