The Secret Art of Human Flight

After the loss of a spouse, how does one heal and try to move forward from that?  If you are Ben Grady (Grant Rosenmeyer) then the answer is quite simple: completely upend your entire life for the pursuit of one crazy idea – learning how to fly. Directed by H.P. Mendoza and written by Jesse Orenshein, The Secret Art of Human Flight reminds us that in times of darkness, letting go and trying to rise above no matter the outcome is key…or in this case, fly.  

After the sudden death of his wife Sarah (Reina Hardesty), writer Ben is at a loss of the next step. His sister Gloria (Lucy DeVito) and her husband Tom (Nican Robinson) do their best to keep Ben on a steady path towards healing, even as Detective Reyes (Rosa Arredondo) tries to solve Sarah’s untimely death. One day Ben stumbles upon a video of a man named Mealworm (Paul Raci) jumping off a cliff…and launching right into the sky. Curious on how to achieve flight himself, Ben stumbles upon Mealworm’s pitch on how to successfully fly. While reluctant at first, Ben purchases the program and starts down the proverbial rabbit hole of healing from Sarah’s loss and finding the one wild thing that he needs to move forward in life. And from there life is never quite the same as Ben’s descent into such a lofty idea prompts some rather unusual behavior, conversations about life and death and finally learning to let go.  

The Secret Art of Human Flight is more than just about Ben’s quest to soar…it is about the healing process towards that finish line with the loss of a loved one. And Rosenmeyer completely lands that role. Ben’s perception of his perfect relationship with Sarah seems to be anything but that, especially with the way he tries to seemingly control the narrative in their marriage. While their symbiotic relationship towards writing and illustrating a children’s book plays as textbook-fairy tale, their working relationship is fraught with a struggle on the next one. Mendoza can slowly unravel that story in the same thread as Ben unravels from the mundane, everyday world into a place he finds solace.  

While it was refreshing to see the imperfections within Ben and Sarah’s relationship, I also appreciated the character development of new relationships in Ben’s life: namely the one he has with Mealworm and the one he makes with Sarah’s friend Wendy (Maggie Grace). Where Ben’s sister Gloria is confused at the turn of events, both Mealworm and Wendy can help Ben in articulating the thoughts in his head. It also does not hurt that Raci and Grace’s characters also understand the loss of a spouse, even though their methods of coping are not quite orthodox. While Mealworm tries to help Ben shed himself of every physical item in his life, Wendy encourages the outlandish idea of flight as she has found that having one thing that was hers and hers alone helped her in the loss of her husband. Tragedy alters the normalcy that many of the people in Ben’s life still possess, so having a perspective outside the box grounds Ben in a strange way.  

Loss is tragic and the healing may never quite occur in a linear fashion. But you find your way, a new path that might not make sense to others….but only to you. And maybe that journey will confuse those around you, but it’s your journey at your pace. For Ben, that journey involves a rather strange talent…but one that may help him finally find peace.