Seeking out Redemption in the Beautiful World of Film. or My Excuse to Write About Movies

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Blindness

Fernando Mereilles (maker of two excellent films: City of God and The Constant Gardener) directs Blindness, a distopian tale of a mega-virus that blinds everyone in the world, except one woman. Julianne Moore plays the Doctor's wife, the only person not stricken with this disease. The Doctor (Mark Ruffalo) is an optometrist who sees a patient who has been struck blind, but not like normal blindness. Instead of black, he sees white all the time. This virus is then passed on to others, and pretty soon they are quarantined. It keeps spreading and spreading, no matter what the government does to contain it.



First of all, the film is fantastically shot. As has been his style, Mereilles over saturates his cinematography, in this case with white. This style obviously adds to our experience of the characters' blindness. Other techniques are used effectively to add to our experience as well, such as blurriness, and lack of clarity/light.

What are people really like? Would we let down our walls and see the truth of ourselves and each other if none of us relied on our vision anymore. It seems as though we can truly see what humanity is when they are struck blind (that is called irony). Before the blindness epidemic we see people do some things, good and bad, but we understand from a Christian perspective that they are all sinners. Yet when the blindness hits people are almost driven to be animals, their instincts take over. Without society to keep them in check, humanity's evils are given free reign to take over. People now feel allowed to do heinous things to each other. One scene in particular is appallingly brutal. I won't spoil it but I do want to warn anyone considering seeing this film. Food has become scarce in the quarantined area. One ward has control over the food and exploits the others because of that. When other wards run out of money or valuables the oppressors come up with another plan: send us your women. The men act like cowards on one side, and pigs on the other. I cannot emphasize enough how disgusting we as humans can act towards each other when we think we have no accountability, no one to "keep an eye on us." The best definition I have heard for integrity is "Who you are in the dark." This film visually expounds upon that idea, especially during the scene in question.

Near the end of the film an old wise man with a black eye patch (Danny Glover) talks about how he knows everyone in their little group very well, even though he doesn't know their names (no names are used in the film). He believes that without superficials to rely on, like names or even appearance, it is easier to truly know someone. I guess that is how God sees us, for who we really are. Yet He knows our names, or maybe more accurately He knows what name truly says who we are. We see this over and over again in Scripture when name are changed by God (ex. Abram/Abraham, Jacob/Israel, Saul/Paul).

Speaking of Paul, that reminds me of another scene in the film that leaped out. At one point we see a character enter a church. All the paintings and statues, the icons, are blindfolded. There is a priest preaching, and you can hear him faintly in the background. His subject is Paul's conversion. In that story Paul was saved by Jesus, then struck blind. He needed to go into town to be healed of his blindness. This sermon further illustrates the point that maybe only through blindness can we truly "see" (ie. The Matrix, right Jim?). Because when our sight is taken from us we can truly focus on what is important, at least hypothetically.

The Doctor's Wife plays a very strong savior role in the film. She volunteers to go with her husband and all the other blind people into the quarantine even though she can see. She risks getting the disease, as well as being basically imprisoned. Her sight is a huge advantage in the quarantine though, and she uses that gift to help others. She becomes a leader, though a silent one, and a great servant. Her courage, strength and compassion are what get her and her husband, as well as many others, through many gut-wrenching times. This character is one of the best female lead roles I have seen in a long time. Not only is it a great performance, but also fantastically written. The character is immensely complicated, incredibly good, yet flawed. She plays a Christ-like role in so many lives, and is an inspiration to others. Too often in films either those roles go to men, or those roles played by women can only be really appreciated by a woman, and men feel like outsiders. I am a man, and was enthralled by this character's ability to lead and to serve. In a normally shallow pool of female lead roles, this one shines.

Blindness is a journey into a blinding hell where all the rules and comforts of everyday life are thrown out the window. It has disturbing moments, as well as experiences of profound beauty. It even has an international flavor, a la Babel or Lost. I cannot understand why more critics have not embraced this film. Blindness has been a moment of clarity and truth in an otherwise bland year of film thus far. I loved it.