One of the few outstanding pictures of late, 'Blindness' is hard to watch, hard to stomach and hard to deal with. As other comments mention, this movie leaves you somewhat disgusted at being human, because the consequences of a non-explained epidemic of white blindness appear extremely realistic.
It's also perfectly understandable that some people hate this movie, as it definitely vilifies everybody affected to a certain extent, the only exception being the still-seeing heroine. However in the profit-driven film industry, which so frequently torments our brains with just too much triviality, such a well-paced, provocative, thought-inspiring piece should be appreciated more for its dare than criticized for its shortcomings.
If you don't want to learn too much about the plot, read no further. I give a concise summary because some of you may want to know why this film is so controversial.
An unnamed city (though easily recognizable as Toronto). A busy traffic intersection. A Japanese man suddenly turns blind. Unnerved drivers honking need to be appeased by a passersby. Another one offers to give the Japanese man a lift home. Once there, he makes off with his car. The Japanese man waits for his wife, who then takes him to an optician. The optician cannot establish his condition and refers him to a hospital. The optician heads home, has dinner with his wife (absolutely brilliant: Julianne Moore), and wakes up next morning to find that he has lost his sight as well. So has the car thief and various other patients of his clinic. It becomes apparent that the blindness is an epidemic. The optician is being transported to an isolation facility, accompanied by his wife who pretends to have turned blind as well. Once there, they try to set up a code of behavior for the ever-increasing numbers of arrivals, since they are completely left to their own devices, with no direct contact to the outside world. The facility is guarded by trigger-happy soldiers who offer no assistance whatsoever and resort to violence in order to keep the affected indoors. Among them, power struggles ensue. With limited food supplies, a group of crooks takes control of them and coerce the others to exchange their valuables, and then their women for food. Their means of authority are a gun and the instincts of a blind accountant (chilling: Maury Chaykin). After one of the women dies of abuse, the optician's wife kills the leader of the crooks (effectively ruthless: Gael Garcia Bernal). A revolt ensues, during which the building catches fire. The wife dares to ask the guards for help and finds the facility deserted. She takes a small group of the liberated blind across a collapsed Toronto, eventually making it home. A joyful dinner with what has become her family of sorts follows. Next morning the Japanese man, who was the first one affected and is still among them, can see once more, to the joy of everyone except a naturally blind man who had hoped to go on living with everybody (wonderful: Danny Glover). The optician's wife walks out on the terrace and looks up to the white sky - has she now lost her sight, as it returns to the others? The criticism this story attracts from naturally blind people may stem from the accomplice of the villains. Of all the bad guys, he appears to be the worst because he knows exactly how vulnerable and extorted the affected victims feel. He jumps at the chance to wield authority for once instead of feeling compassion. However, this doesn't seem unrealistic and isn't presented in a discriminatory way.
The meaning of the white blindness appears to be some religious castigation in the novel, though this isn't pointed out explicitly. What makes this movie so fantastic in my opinion is that no explanation is offered at all. It's all about how people react upon a common affliction, and the chain of degradation that ensues is so logical that I am hard-pressed to remember any other dystopian film with such a clear message.
And then there is Julianne Moore, who makes her screen persona absolutely unforgettable - both angelic and vulnerable, both forgiving and vengeful, and always credible, even though it is such a mystery why she is the only one not affected by the disease.
In conclusion: this is one of those rare movies that give you a lot more than you might have wished for.
It's also perfectly understandable that some people hate this movie, as it definitely vilifies everybody affected to a certain extent, the only exception being the still-seeing heroine. However in the profit-driven film industry, which so frequently torments our brains with just too much triviality, such a well-paced, provocative, thought-inspiring piece should be appreciated more for its dare than criticized for its shortcomings.
If you don't want to learn too much about the plot, read no further. I give a concise summary because some of you may want to know why this film is so controversial.
An unnamed city (though easily recognizable as Toronto). A busy traffic intersection. A Japanese man suddenly turns blind. Unnerved drivers honking need to be appeased by a passersby. Another one offers to give the Japanese man a lift home. Once there, he makes off with his car. The Japanese man waits for his wife, who then takes him to an optician. The optician cannot establish his condition and refers him to a hospital. The optician heads home, has dinner with his wife (absolutely brilliant: Julianne Moore), and wakes up next morning to find that he has lost his sight as well. So has the car thief and various other patients of his clinic. It becomes apparent that the blindness is an epidemic. The optician is being transported to an isolation facility, accompanied by his wife who pretends to have turned blind as well. Once there, they try to set up a code of behavior for the ever-increasing numbers of arrivals, since they are completely left to their own devices, with no direct contact to the outside world. The facility is guarded by trigger-happy soldiers who offer no assistance whatsoever and resort to violence in order to keep the affected indoors. Among them, power struggles ensue. With limited food supplies, a group of crooks takes control of them and coerce the others to exchange their valuables, and then their women for food. Their means of authority are a gun and the instincts of a blind accountant (chilling: Maury Chaykin). After one of the women dies of abuse, the optician's wife kills the leader of the crooks (effectively ruthless: Gael Garcia Bernal). A revolt ensues, during which the building catches fire. The wife dares to ask the guards for help and finds the facility deserted. She takes a small group of the liberated blind across a collapsed Toronto, eventually making it home. A joyful dinner with what has become her family of sorts follows. Next morning the Japanese man, who was the first one affected and is still among them, can see once more, to the joy of everyone except a naturally blind man who had hoped to go on living with everybody (wonderful: Danny Glover). The optician's wife walks out on the terrace and looks up to the white sky - has she now lost her sight, as it returns to the others? The criticism this story attracts from naturally blind people may stem from the accomplice of the villains. Of all the bad guys, he appears to be the worst because he knows exactly how vulnerable and extorted the affected victims feel. He jumps at the chance to wield authority for once instead of feeling compassion. However, this doesn't seem unrealistic and isn't presented in a discriminatory way.
The meaning of the white blindness appears to be some religious castigation in the novel, though this isn't pointed out explicitly. What makes this movie so fantastic in my opinion is that no explanation is offered at all. It's all about how people react upon a common affliction, and the chain of degradation that ensues is so logical that I am hard-pressed to remember any other dystopian film with such a clear message.
And then there is Julianne Moore, who makes her screen persona absolutely unforgettable - both angelic and vulnerable, both forgiving and vengeful, and always credible, even though it is such a mystery why she is the only one not affected by the disease.
In conclusion: this is one of those rare movies that give you a lot more than you might have wished for.