Blindness (C- or 1.5/4 stars)
An unknown city is ravaged by a 'white blindness' epidemic 'Blindness', a drama/thriller directed by Fernando Meirelles (City of God, The Constant Gardner). The 1st wave victims are quarantined by authorities in an abandoned mental hospital (3 Ward's full of angry, upset blind people ... sans one). A doctor's wife (Julianne Moore) becomes the only person in the hospital with the ability to still see. To provide for herself, her husband (Mark Ruffalo), & the rest of her Ward, she feigns blindness. As her surrounding community breaks down into chaos, disorder, & panic (all understandable), her ability to see will be quite the useful weapon. I'm sure this film wants to teach us something about society. All it did for me was present an incredibly uncomfortable, ugly movie-going experience.
The 1st person to go blind is a Japanese man (Yusuke Iseya). The eye doctor who treats this man goes blind the next morning. Other examples of normal everyday citizens are shown (pre and post infliction). The befuddled government decides to throw this 1st wave of patients into a sort of Hell-on-Earth concentration camp; til they can hopefully discover a cure to the 'white blindness'. Nice, huh? The one person left with their sight (with exception to the initial group of military agents overseeing the 3 Wards) is the eye doctor's wife. Other people included in these wards are a prostitute with sunglasses (Alice Braga); the little boy she looks after (no pun intended); a kind, elderly man (Danny Glover); & a tyrannical self-proclaimed King of Ward #3 (Gael Garcia Bernal).
The King of Ward #3 possesses a gun (somehow) and uses it to control the other wards. Since the entire food supply/rationing is nil, he'll divvy it out on 2 conditions: 1) everyone must give up their valuables to him (jewelry, trinkets, $$). And after exhausting this proposal, the 2nd step is demanding sexual favors from every living female in the 3 Wards! Sure enough, not once, but TWICE do the women (all shapes, sizes & ages) have to assembly line themselves down to Ward #3 to allow their bodies to be raped for food. This is a classic case of the strong preying on the weak. But I did not want to see half an hour devoted to this.
Watching 'Blindess' is a chore. The cinematography (while ambitious) is as ugly as the movie; whitewashed, repetitive, grainy, filthy, jarring. And watching these decrepit people fumble around for nearly 2 hours is exhausting. Some of them are half-dressed. Some are nude. Some are shivering. They are tripping & slipping around the litter-filled hallways. Some are starving. People are arguing; physically assaulting one another. Rape. Murder. I almost couldn't take it anymore (I suppose that's the point). But with exception to the people who REALLY want to see this, there is NO way I recommend 'Blindness' to anyone I know.
The acting is the only thing that elevates this drudgery to the C-/1.5 star rating I'm giving it. Julianne Moore is very convincing in the sympathetic caretaker role. Gael Garcia Bernal is excellent as the slimy A-hole who runs Ward #3. And the rest of the cast impress. The beginning & ending of the film are good. But it does not make up for the horror of everything in-between. Even the 'uplifting' ending in which Moore guides her escaped patients through the war-torn streets of the city did nothing for me. This movie aims to show what happens to society when everyone is on the same playing field (health-wise). It also tries to show that when faced in crisis, humanity prevails in the end. But it fails to properly explain/convey any of its intentions. What is the disease? Why is Moore's character unaffected? Is there a government cover-up? Why didn't Moore just tackle Garcia Bernal for the gun?!? I found 'Blindness' to be an unpleasant, pretentious anti-story.
The 1st person to go blind is a Japanese man (Yusuke Iseya). The eye doctor who treats this man goes blind the next morning. Other examples of normal everyday citizens are shown (pre and post infliction). The befuddled government decides to throw this 1st wave of patients into a sort of Hell-on-Earth concentration camp; til they can hopefully discover a cure to the 'white blindness'. Nice, huh? The one person left with their sight (with exception to the initial group of military agents overseeing the 3 Wards) is the eye doctor's wife. Other people included in these wards are a prostitute with sunglasses (Alice Braga); the little boy she looks after (no pun intended); a kind, elderly man (Danny Glover); & a tyrannical self-proclaimed King of Ward #3 (Gael Garcia Bernal).
The King of Ward #3 possesses a gun (somehow) and uses it to control the other wards. Since the entire food supply/rationing is nil, he'll divvy it out on 2 conditions: 1) everyone must give up their valuables to him (jewelry, trinkets, $$). And after exhausting this proposal, the 2nd step is demanding sexual favors from every living female in the 3 Wards! Sure enough, not once, but TWICE do the women (all shapes, sizes & ages) have to assembly line themselves down to Ward #3 to allow their bodies to be raped for food. This is a classic case of the strong preying on the weak. But I did not want to see half an hour devoted to this.
Watching 'Blindess' is a chore. The cinematography (while ambitious) is as ugly as the movie; whitewashed, repetitive, grainy, filthy, jarring. And watching these decrepit people fumble around for nearly 2 hours is exhausting. Some of them are half-dressed. Some are nude. Some are shivering. They are tripping & slipping around the litter-filled hallways. Some are starving. People are arguing; physically assaulting one another. Rape. Murder. I almost couldn't take it anymore (I suppose that's the point). But with exception to the people who REALLY want to see this, there is NO way I recommend 'Blindness' to anyone I know.
The acting is the only thing that elevates this drudgery to the C-/1.5 star rating I'm giving it. Julianne Moore is very convincing in the sympathetic caretaker role. Gael Garcia Bernal is excellent as the slimy A-hole who runs Ward #3. And the rest of the cast impress. The beginning & ending of the film are good. But it does not make up for the horror of everything in-between. Even the 'uplifting' ending in which Moore guides her escaped patients through the war-torn streets of the city did nothing for me. This movie aims to show what happens to society when everyone is on the same playing field (health-wise). It also tries to show that when faced in crisis, humanity prevails in the end. But it fails to properly explain/convey any of its intentions. What is the disease? Why is Moore's character unaffected? Is there a government cover-up? Why didn't Moore just tackle Garcia Bernal for the gun?!? I found 'Blindness' to be an unpleasant, pretentious anti-story.