Blind

I'm going out of order, but this one will be short, so I'm writing it quickly. I just got home from the theatre. Darn the commute.

This movie was AMAZING. It was the first screening of it...period. I felt so special. At least I think it was. Maybe first screening in North America. The movie was introduced by the director, Tamar van den Dop and the lead actor, Joren Seldeslachts. The producer, Petra Goedings sent along a letter (SO well written, I couldn't believe it) as she was in the Netherlands, due to go into labour at any time.

To save you time on clicking, I'll give you the description of Blind from the TIFF website:
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Remarkably beautiful to look at and listen to, Blind is a fable come vividly to life. It also exerts a formidable pull on the heartstrings throughout all its plot twists, keeping viewers tightly pinned to their seats.

Ruben (Joren Seldeslachts) is a young man who, along with his mother and assorted household staff, inhabits a large estate in the country sometime in the late nineteenth century. Ruben cannot see, and he is also rapaciously bloody-minded, ruling the household through fierce tantrums and intimidation. This frustrating state of affairs comes to a head upon the arrival of Marie (Halina Reijn), a pale-as-snow, slightly odd-looking older woman who is just as strong-willed as Ruben. She refuses to become embroiled in his power struggles, as she has been hired to read to him and she loves books more than anything else.

It is the perfect job for Marie. Emotionally scarred by a childhood trauma, she believes herself to be grotesque, so a blind employer relieves her of self-consciousness. Ruben doesn’t love anyone or anything until Marie’s quiet insight into his soul provokes an affection for her stronger than anything he has ever felt before. In the bleak winter months, the two misunderstood outsiders find each other.

Into their unlikely idyll swoops a doctor who insists that Ruben’s eyesight can be restored through a new surgical procedure. Ruben wants the operation to be able to finally see his true love and the world around her, but Marie panics, convinced that Ruben will discover she is ugly and her only love will be destroyed. The remarkable and unexpected turns that follow are reminiscent of both O. Henry and Aesop.

Sound has a prominent place in Blind; the attention-grabbing aural barrage of the opening, for example, soon gives way to more melodic textures and temperatures. This auditory richness, combined with impeccable period production design by Hubert Pouille, makes the film a sensual as well as emotional experience. Confidently directed by first-time feature filmmaker Tamar van den Dop, with memorable performances by both Seldeslachts and Reijn, Blind exquisitely explores that age-old question: is true love really blind?

-Jane Schoettle
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It was beautifully shot. The colours. The sounds. The ending was great. I wasn't sure how it was going to end, and I'm very happy with how it did. I don't like movies very often, so the fact that I like this one makes me think that it's special. Or at least it's my type of movie. This movie is intense. That's for sure. I don't want to say too much more. I don't want to give anything away. It was so good.

There was a Q&A afterwards (that's two for two!) and I have to say that I didn't really have any questions. The first movie I watched was a documentary with many issues and "controversy", so lots to discuss, but this was just a beautiful story. It's there, no confusion. I think the audience may have felt that was as well. In the other movie, we had to be cut off. In this one, I think to a certain extent, people were grasping at straws so they didn't seem uninterested. And the venue for this movie was much bigger, so more people to pool from.

All I can say is that I hope there's hype about the film somewhere down the line. It deserves it. Or should I say, all parties involved deserve it.

- picture courtesy of www.tiff07.ca