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Review #698 of 365
Movie Review of Blindness (2008) [R] 120 minutes
WIP™ Scale: $13.75
Where Viewed: AMC Theatres Orchard 12, Westminster, CO
When Seen: 3 October 2008 @ 4:30 pm
DVD Release Date: Unscheduled (please check back)
After the Credits: there is nothing
Unsung Crew Member: Beard Maker – Chris Vaughan
Soundtrack: Download now from 
- or - order the CD below
Directed by: Fernando Meirelles (The Constant Gardener)
0: Don McKellar (Phone Call from Imaginary Girlfriends: Ankara) based on novel Ensaio Sober a Cegueira
Featured Cast (Where You Might Remember Him/Her From):
Julianne Moore (I'm Not There) • Mark Ruffalo (Reservation Road) • Alice Braga (I Am Legend) • Danny Glover (Shooter) • Gael García Bernal (Babel) • Yusuke Iseya (Closed Note) • Mitchell Nye (Spoonfed) • Sandra Oh (For Your Consideration)
or Blindness in English. The story presents a date in the not too distant future when an unnamed country is suddenly afflicted with a highly contagious plague that causes people to go inexplicably blind. [note: This review will focus exclusively on the film version of the story.] It begins without warning and it seems to pass from person to person. A Japanese man shows up at an eye doctor's office unable to see. Nothing appears to be wrong, so he's sent to the hospital for more tests. The chain of people with whom he comes in contact subsequently within approximately 24 hours all fall victim to the condition. Not knowing how to respond and worried about the spread, the government institutes a quarantine of all those afflicted. They begin to go around collecting everyone who cannot see and shipping them off to barracks and facilities where they can be secluded and locked up. The characters, who are referred to throughout the film not by names, but by what they do, are asked to find a ward, find a bed, and select a ward representative. The Doctor (Mark Ruffalo) and his wife (Julianne Moore) are shuffled in with others. The Doctor's Wife, however, is not afflicted. She pretends to be, because she worries she'll never see him again (both meanings of the expression). Other main characters that show up include The Woman with the Dark Glasses (Alice Braga), The Man with the Black Eye Patch (Danny Glover), the First Blind Man (Yusuke Iseya), and the Boy (Mitchell Nye). The Doctor is selected as the ward representative after his brave show of leadership in breaking up the fighting between two other men in the war. More and more people show up and introduce themselves. All are from the chain of people shown the days before coming in contact with the original afflicted person. The Woman with the Dark Glasses befriends the Boy and acts very motherly toward him as his parents are not there. The First Blind Man's wife arrives as well. Still, the Doctors's Wife remains unaffected. The government drops off food rations, but these people who have no experience being blind and no help have to figure out how to do everything again. Soon, for some, clothes become optional as they figure no one can see and it's too hard to find them to put on, wash them, etc. The Doctor's Wife helps out putting up guide wires for everyone, but she and the Doctor feel it essential that no one figure out that she can see. There are a few scenes outside of high level government meetings on the plague. Eventually, however, the Minister of Health (Sandra Oh) also goes blind. There seems to be no stopping. The Man with the Black Eye Patch has a radio with limited batteries, and they are able to catch up on a few details. It seems that the government felt that the plague was contained, but then it turned out they were wrong and soon it became overwhelming with too many people everywhere suddenly going blind while driving or flying and causing all sorts of accidents and making driving very dangerous, so no one drove, and then pretty soon no one could see to be able to drive anyway so the streets became 'safe' again. But as government services begin to wind down, so does the amount of food that is dropped off for those in quarantine prompting the Bartender in Ward Three (Gael García Bernal) to declare himself King. He also, somehow, has gotten hold of a gun, and he decides not to be so benevolent. He and his henchmen declare that his ward will not control all the food and only those who can pay for food will get food from the other wards. Everyone is outraged, but there is little he can do as he starts shooting into the crowd—apparently his supply of ammunition is as unlimited as his wickedness. He is supported, it turns out, by a real blind man whose been blind all his life and knows a thing or two about how to survive in the world without being able to see—a considerable advantage. But, it's not until the people run out of valuables to buy food and the King decides that the only alternative to money will be to send women for food, that the truly desperate and horrifying conditions of the facility become incontrovertible. (see spoiler for rest of plot and ending) The premise and much of the realization of the story is fascinating. Unfortunately, it gets a bit too bogged down in the middle with seemingly endless shots of the horrible living conditions that arise inside the facility due to the people's lack of vision (literally and figuratively). Other than this slight flaw, the story is actually a fascinating examination of humanity or the lack thereof. As society outside the facility completely falls apart so does the delicate balance of order within the facility on a microscale. The film's exploration into human nature and character, what keeps people good and honest, how long can they go without food and comfort before they lose their minds, and what sacrifices are people willing to make for the better of their group / society / culture. Moreover, when put in this situation, it's fascinating to watch as they begin to realize that the government's not going to be helping any time soon. There's an opportunity to begin to accept the fate and work within it, or to lose all hope and basically wilt out of existence. This prompts two additional effects: (a) incredible respect for blind people and (b) incredible appreciation for the sense of sight—both of which we culturally take far too much for granted. The result is absolutely as fascinating as it is somewhat gruesome revealing both the best and worst of humanity. One tiny flaw, is that the Doctor should have realized the importance of his wife, as someone obviously immune to the disease, to finding a potential cure.
Director Fernando Meirelles has taken a simple approach in directing the film that turns into a social experiment. How the actors are able to deal with the sickening and morose conditions for months of filming is difficult to fathom. The grime, filth, and human waste is everywhere. That stuff on the floor that looks like mud, well, hopefully it really was mud for the actors' sakes, but where exactly would mud come from? Anyway, he's coaxed from his cast some truly beautiful performances. Julianne Moore's not been this real or raw since she portrayed Marian Wyman in the 1993 film Short Cuts. As the only sighted person in the facility and maybe the world for all she knows she has a very unique role to play. She alone can see what's really going on inside. She's absolutely stunning even as she deals with the utter chaos of her surroundings. Mark Ruffalo is a tremendous actor, but he's having more and more difficulty differentiating his characters. For as different as this one is from his previous recent characters, they share so much in common.
Julianne Moore's not been this real or raw since she portrayed Marian Wyman in the 1993 film Short Cuts.
Blindness is not a perfect film, mostly because, again, it gets stuck in the middle and seems not to know where to go, when, in fact, there is so much more to explore that it eventually gets around to. Yet, it's absolutely compelling in just about every way. There have been several films in recent times about plagues and zombies and horror, that cannot hold a candle to how truly terrifying this film is.
… absolutely compelling … incredibly realistic … obviously possible.
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Other Projects Featuring Blindness (2008)
Cast Members
Julianne Moore
• Mark Ruffalo • Alice BragaDanny Glover
• Gael García Bernal • Yusuke IseyaMitchell Nye
• Sandra OhDirector
Fernando Meirelles
Writer
Don McKellar
or Blindness in English. The story presents a future time when an unnamed country suddenly is afflicted with a highly contagious plague of blindness. The main characters are taken to a government facility for quarantine. The premise and much of the realization of the story is fascinating. Unfortunately, it gets a bit too bogged down in the middle with seemingly endless shots of the horrible living conditions that arise inside the facility due to the people's lack of vision (literally and figuratively). Director Fernando Meirelles takes a simple approach in directing the film that turns into a social experiment. Julianne Moore's not been this real or raw since the 1993 film Short Cuts. Blindness is absolutely compelling in just about every way. 
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