Blindness DVD Review
What if people started going inexplicably blind? That is the question posed in the film Blindness, and lets just say the answer is disturbing, frightening and, quite possibly, true.
The first person struck by the blindness is a Japanese man (Yusuke Iseya), who says its “like all the lights have been switched on at once, creating an expanse of white where the world used to be – like swimming in milk.” He is patient zero, and from there, the infection spreads to the people that were at the optometrist’s office he visited, and so on, and so on. The optometrist (Mark Ruffalo) is struck blind and taken into a government quarantine, and his wife (Julianne Moore) goes with him, even though she can still see (she pretends to be blind as well when she picks up on the fact that if she doesn’t, the government wont let her stay with him).
The doctors patients are soon brought in as well, including a prostitute (Alice Braga of I Am Legend), a little boy (Mitchell Nye), and a man with an eye patch (Danny Glover of Be Kind Rewind, and Dreamgirls). Doctor tries to maintain order, and at first they forge a decent existence under the circumstances.
When more and more people are brought to the facility, overcrowding leads to a breakdown of humanity, which is made worse by the fact that the government essentially abandons all of them to fend for themselves. When another man (Gael Garcia Bernal of Babel) appoints himself “King” and starts wrecking havoc, things quickly escalate from bad to worse.
Moore (Children of Men, Freedomland, The Forgotten) carries this film on her back, and thank goodness she does a great job of it, not only being the eyes of the film, but also the moral compass. Considering the fact that Doctor (Ruffalo of Reservation Road, and Zodiac) is supposed to be mired in cowardice, he also does well with his role.
Blindness, directed by Brazilian filmmaker Fernando Meirelles (The Constant Gardener, City of God) and written by Don McKellar (who also appears in the movie as “the thief”), is based on the 1995 novel of the same name by JosÈ Saramago.
The film is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen, with audio in English and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, as well as subtitles in English and Spanish. The only extras are the 55-minute “A Vision of Blindness”, which focuses on the film from concept to execution; and five deleted scenes lasting about 6 minutes total.
Blindness is rated “R for violence including sexual assaults, language and sexuality/nudity” and has a 121-minute run time. Heed the rating, because there are several disturbing set ups/scenes in the film.
There’s an important message about morality and humanity in Blindness that makes it worth sitting through the uncomfortable parts of the film (of which there are many). I always appreciate a film that challenges what I would or would not do in a given situation, and this film is just that. It will make you think, and probably “see” things in a while new light.
I give Blindness 4 stars out of 5 stars.
