Blindness (2008)

Tuesday, 03 March 2009 00:00

Reviewed by Carol Sullivan

Genre: Thriller
ON DVD: February 10, 2009
Rating: R for violence including sexual assaults, language and sexuality/nudity

Director: Fernando Meirelles
Starring: Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Alice Braga, Yusuke Iseya, Yoshino Kimura, Don McKellar
Studio: Miramax Films

DVD FEATURES
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A Vision of Blindness - Making of Blindness documentary

Deleted scenes

I had been looking forward to seeing Blindness (no pun intended!) since I saw the trailer before its release. It sure sounded like a fascinating concept for a thriller; being the only sighted person in a suddenly blind world. The trailer had made the movie look fast-paced and terrifying. Now that I have seen it, it is far more impressive than the trailers gave it credit for; but not for the that reasons that you might think... Based on the novel by Nobel Prize winning Jose Saramago's, Blindness begins in a bustling European city. We focus in on an Asian man, sitting in his car at a red light. He sees a flash of white and is instantly blind, for no apparent reason. Seeing his panic, other drivers pull him from his car and try to assist him.

Strange, right? Wait for it....This man has a highly contagious disease - one that he has just given to everyone he came in contact with. And they'll, in turn, give it two friends, who will give it to two friends and so on and so on. Within a few short days, the virus spreads like wild-fire, infecting the world and bringing civilization to its knees.

But, we then meet a doctor's wife (Julianna Moore The Forgotten), who seems to be immune. This selfless woman will help the blind and frightened captives of a mandatory quarantine; a mix of the good and bad people of society, in an abandoned building where their supplies are quickly running out...

One of the reasons I love movies like this one and Stephen King's The Stand is that they set up a terrifying scenario; one where the unthinkable could possibly happen in our lifetime. More often than not, I find these thrillers to be scarier than a slasher movie could ever hope to be.

Blindness, beautifully directed by Fernando Meirelles (The Constant Gardener) brings us a mind-blowing vision of a post apocalyptic city; trash-filled streets, abandoned cars and frightened sufferers stumbling around in the mess, crying out for help. These scenes are powerful and upsetting and so well done! And when the quarantine prisoners begin to fight, rape and even kill for power over the food supply, the movie shows us just what lows humans might reach when frightened and how compassionate others can be.

Though the movie moves a little slowly at times, the cast, including Mark Ruffalo (Zodiac) and Danny Glover (Lethal Weapon series) deliver moving performances that were quite impressive. And the movie has a great ending waiting for you!

Powerful and thought-provoking, Blindness is definitely worth a rental and/or purchase.

Overall Rating: 4

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Last Updated ( Friday, 27 March 2009 14:28 )