By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.75 cats
Director: Fernando Meirelles
Starring: Alice Braga | Don McKellar | Gael García Bernal | Julianne Moore | Mark Ruffalo | Yoshino Kimura | Yusuke Iseya
Country: brazil, canada, japan
Year: 2008
Running time: 121
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0861689/
Beth Curran says: “Okay, I first must talk about the spectacle first – the film’s premiere was at the Elgin, and it was beyond zooey. Seating took forever, and it was unbelievable how large the reserved section was. While looking for a friend, I was almost tripped by Geoffrey Rush, & nearly got bumrushed by Adrien Brody as he was being whooshed to his seat. Then the intro was a long one – I think about 12 or 13 cast members were up there, along with the director, writer and producer. A packed house, all around.
“As for the film – in an unknown city, a man driving down the street is suddenly stricken blind, from a mysterious disease that quickly spreads. We follow the plight of a blinded eye doctor (Mark Ruffalo) and his wife (Julianne Moore), who is feigning sickness, as they are quarantined with other sufferers in a military hospital, and basically left to fend for themselves. The cast is uniformly good (Maury Chaykin is intensely creepy) and the visuals are arresting. The director, Fernando Mereilles, does an effective job using washed out images and dislocating jump cuts to help the audience experience something of the disorientation and alienation felt by the characters. There is one section that is clunky and overstuffed – it almost breaks the overall tone of the film, but I mostly forgave it because it provided wider information critical to the rest of the film. My bigger issue was with elements of the plot, and the characterization of the wife. I couldn’t buy why she made many of the choices she did, and this kept me from caring that much for her, or for the people she felt responsible for. It’s not like I needed to cry tears of empathy, but I don’t think the intent was to feel as emotionless as I did at film’s end. I haven’t read the book, and have a feeling I would have the same quibbles with it as I do the film – particularly since Saramago is so famously protective of his story, I doubt the filmmakers could have changed too much story-wise. 3 1/2 cats
“This film screened at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival”
Michael says: “Chlotrudis members know I’ve been waiting for this film with a high degree of anticipation. Word from Cannes was not good, and I was prepared for an ambitious but ultimately failure of a film, adapted from the Nobel Prize-winning novel by Jose Saramago. Instead I was incredibly surprised and mightily pleased at how well BLINDNESS translated to the big screen. The novel, despite its central theme of a city falling under the grip of a highly communicable disease that causes people to blind, is strongly visual, and director Fernando Meirelles (CITY OF GOD) uses a blurred, white-out effect well, and recreates first an institution, then a city brought low by this sudden epidemic, with filth, trash and neglect piling up in the hallways and streets. The locations in South America and Ontario did well to convey a large metropolis that was anonymous enough to be any city, and the international production utilizing actors from across the globe helped give a universal feel to this parable.
“When a strange epidemic overcomes a city, the government inters its citizens in a former institution, providing them with ever-decreasing amounts of food, and shooting anyone who tries to escape. Power struggles and survival tactics turn the situation inside this government-sanctioned prison turn desultory and ugly quickly. The inhabitants of Ward One, including the first man to go blind, the thief who helped him home, the doctor who treated him, and the doctor’s wife – the only person in the city to secretly retain her sight – form the core of the group that the film follows. After forming a loose family-type bond, Ward One must then face the violent takeover by Ward Three, whose thuggish leader is aided by a man who is traditionally blind. Eventually, when the entire city is blind, the group emerges from their prison to find a city wallowing in the throes of helplessness, and they must find their way to a safe haven where they can begin again.
“For Chlotrudis members, certainly the screenplay was of major interest. Adapted by Chlotrudis Advisory Board member Don McKellar (who also acts in the film) I was pleases to see a faithfulness to the source material, yet an effective use of dialogue and imagery to convey a greater emotional impact. Certainly to create a two hour film, much of the novel had to be left out, and McKellar wisely chose to do most of his cutting after the group gains their freedom from their prison. He shows enough to let the viewers see what has happened to the once vibrant city, and examines the dangers still lurking around every corner for our protagonists, before setting both them and us up for the more hopeful denouement. McKellar’s strong writing is aided ably by the uniformly strong acting in the cast. Julianne Moore is outstanding as the Doctor’s Wife. The only person to retain her sight, she becomes the de facto leader of Ward One, and we quickly see that the gift of sight is also a heavy burden in this post-apocalyptic time. Moore’s deft portrayal allows the viewer a closeness that was more removed in the book. Saramago’s novel was told from the point of view of an omniscient observer, and as a result, remained at a distance, reporting the events as they happened. Moore’s character allows the viewer an emotional focal point. We feel her frustration, her horror, her sympathy and her love. It’s a powerful yet subtle performance. All of the cast rises to the dramatic occasion, McKellar, Mark Ruffalo, Alice Braga, Yusuke Iseya, Yoshino Kimura, Gael Garcia Bernal, Maury Chaykin, Danny Glover, Susan Coyne and a host of Canadian actors who make up the victims of this disease all contribute performances that enhance the film. McKellar also knows humor, and despite the overwhelming hopelessness of the situation, he punctuates the few moments of humor nicely, both in his script and in his performance. Love that great scene between he and Tracy Wright, who plays his wife.
“Much was made about the narration by Danny Glover’s character in the original cut that was later removed; and to that I say bravo. It seems that any changes made after the Cannes premiere only enhanced the quality of the film. Unfortunately, the night we saw the film, despite the eight Chlotrudis members in the audience, only saw a total of a dozen or so viewers. While ultimately this film is ineligible for Chlotrudis consideration (it was released on more than 1,000 screens) it’s definitely a must-see for members. 4 cats.”