Blindness (2008)

Director:

Fernando Meirelles

Writers:

José Saramago (novel)
Don McKellar (screenplay)

Release Date:

26 September 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

In a world gone blind, what if you were the only person who could see?

Plot:

A city is ravaged by an epidemic of instant "white blindness". Those first afflicted are quarantined...

Plot Keywords:

Philosophical | Marriage | Illness | Blindness | Doctor

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Julianne Moore	...	Doctor's Wife
Mark Ruffalo	...	Doctor
Alice Braga	...	Girl with the dark glasses
Yusuke Iseya	...	First blind man
Yoshino Kimura	...	First blind man's wife
Don McKellar	...	The thief
Maury Chaykin	...	The accountant
Mitchell Nye	...	Boy with the squint
Danny Glover	...	Old man with the black eye patch / Narrator
Gael García Bernal	...	King of Ward 3
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Scott Anderson	...	Meek Inmate
Isai Rivera Blas	...	Man of ward 3
Jackie Brown	...	Woman of ward 2
Martha Burns	...	Woman with insomnia
Joe Cobden	...	Police officer
Susan Coyne	...	The receptionist
Katherine East	...	Intern
Agi Gallus	...	Woman in ward 2
Amanda Hiebert	...	Hotel maid
Joris Jarsky	...	The hooligan
Katia Kieling	...	Starving Girl
Mpho Koaho	...	Pharmacist's assistant
Nadia Litz	...	Woman of Ward 1
Linlyn Lue	...	Emissary of ward 2
Michael Mahonen	...	Sergeant
Francisco Meirelles	...	Dead body
Tom Melissis	...	The John / Engineer
Jorge Molina	...	The hotel security guard
Anthero Montenegro	...	Cop 1
Paulino Nunes	...	Portuguese Radio Announcer (voice)
Sandra Oh	...	Minister of health
Billy Otis	...	Hoodlum
Joe Pingue	...	Taxi driver
Eduardo Semerjian	...	Concerned Pedestrian #1
Mike G. Yohannes	...	Man of ward 3

Also Known As:

Blindness (Japan: English title)
Ensaio Sobre a Cegueira (Brazil)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence including sexual assaults, language and sexuality/nudity.

Runtime:

120 min | 118 min

Country:

Canada | Brazil | Japan

Language:

English | Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Certification:

Netherlands:6 | USA:R | Brazil:14

Filming Locations:

Guelph, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Rhombus Media

Trivia:

Portuguese Nobel Prize winner José Saramago, the author of the novel upon which the film is based, wanted to attend the premiere of the film at the Cannes Film Festival. His doctors didn't allow him to travel, so the director flew to Lisbon to show him the film.

Quotes:

[from trailer]
Doctor: I can't see. I think I have the white virus.

Just Awful

I hate this. I want to tell you guys that this was Meirelles's comeback and that this film is just as terrifying as you've been promised. But, I cannot.

The film starts off actually quite well. Minus some less than stellar acting (in fact, its horrible) and some just as bad dialogue, I really thought that maybe this film could pull it off.

This is one of those movies that it seriously felt like the director was working on a very limited budget and then took the first take for every actor, none of them had a chance to get into their roles (or so I hope).

It's obvious who will get all of the blame for this (Meirelles) and it's really too bad. I can't say that the plot is necessarily bad, it isn't, and with maybe one more draft the script would've been good. The faults of this film all land on Meirelles's shoulders though. I hate to say it because I am very much not a hater of his (I love Cidade de Deus, The Constant Gardener) but I'm forced to say I hate this movie. Not so much for how bad it actually is (it's very bad) but because I really had faith in the director. The trailers almost felt promising and Meirelles promised me that I'd walk out shaking. Instead, I was shaking my head in disappointment.