cast: Julianne Moore, Danny Glover, Mark Ruffalo
directed by Fernando Meirelles
studio: Miramax
genre: Thriller/ drama
release date: October 3, 2008
BLINDNESS is a thriller that is an adaptation of the book by the same name, written by Jose Saramago.
The film is directed by Fernando Meirelles, a director known for gems like CITY OF GOD and THE CONSTANT GARDENER. And keeing his track record in mind, he looked to be the right candidate to take a film adapatation of this literature nobel prize winner Saramago to screen.
Blindness takes place in a city which is ravaged by an epidemic of instant "white blindness". Those first afflicted are quarantined by the authorities in an abandoned mental hospital where the newly created "society of the blind" quickly breaks down. Criminals and the physically powerful prey upon the weak, hoarding the meager food rations and committing horrific acts.
There is, however, one eyewitness to the nightmare; a woman whose sight is unaffected by the plague follows her afflicted husband to quarantine. There, keeping her sight a secret, she guides seven strangers who have become, in essence, a family. She leads them out of quarantine and onto the ravaged streets of the city, which has seen all vestiges of civilization crumble. Their voyage is fraught with danger, yet their survival and ultimate redemption reflect the tenacity and depth of the human spirit.
There is, however, one eyewitness to the nightmare; a woman whose sight is unaffected by the plague follows her afflicted husband to quarantine. There, keeping her sight a secret, she guides seven strangers who have become, in essence, a family. She leads them out of quarantine and onto the ravaged streets of the city, which has seen all vestiges of civilization crumble. Their voyage is fraught with danger, yet their survival and ultimate redemption reflect the tenacity and depth of the human spirit.
The film was selected as the opening movie for CANNES 2008, but however the reviews from the audiences were not impressive. In fact most critics believe that this time director Meirelles has missed the mark in a big way and failed to do justice to the novel.
PANEL ROOM
This allegorical disaster film about society's reaction to mass blindness is mottled and self-satisfied; provocative but not as interesting as its premise implies.-ROTTENTOMATOES
even a hopeful ending can’t rescue from being a what-if story that’s become a pointless so-what movie. ONE GUYS OPINION D
A sharp view of humanity with a glimmer of hope, Blindness is a movie for our times-- flawed, brutal, with key moments of brilliance. CINEMABLEND 3.5/5
What was a poetic, exhaustively-brilliant piece of fiction has now become a clunky, clattering, ever-collapsing film of bludgeoning rhetoric. FILM CRITIC 1.5/5
Blindness feels incomplete and sketchy, even with this stimulating cast...self-consciously cinematic rather than vividly dramatic. CHICAGOTRIBUNE 2/4
With its loose narrative structure and limited character development, Blindness has the potential to confound and frustrate some viewers. On the other hand, there are those who will see this as an absorbing (if admittedly flawed) thought-piece. REELVIEWS 3/4
No comments:
Post a Comment