Blindsight (2006/I)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Lucy Walker

Release Date:

21 July 2007 (Japan)

Genre:

Documentary | Adventure

Tagline:

See the world in a whole new light.

Plot:

Six blind Tibetan teenagers climb the Lhakpa-Ri peak of Mount Everest, led by seven-summit blind mountain-climber Erik Weihenmayer. |

Plot Keywords:

Mount Everest | Mountain Climber | Prosopagnosia | Blind Man | Face Blindness

Awards:

3 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Gavin Attwood	...	Himself
Sally Berg	...	Herself
Sonam Bhumtso	...	Herself
Dachung	...	Himself
Jeff Evans	...	Himself
Gyenshen	...	Himself
Stefani Jackenthal	...	Herself
Paul Kronenberg	...	Himself
Kyila	...	Herself
Charley Mace	...	Himself
Steven Mace	...	Himself
Chris Morris	...	Himself
Tashi Pasang	...	Himself
Kami Tenzing Sherpa	...	Himself
Cornelia Tenberken	...	Herself

MPAA:

Rated PG for some thematic elements and mild language.

Runtime:

104 min | Canada:104 min (Toronto International Film Festival)

Country:

UK

Language:

Tibetan | German | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Sweden:7 | Netherlands:AL | USA:PG | Australia:PG | Singapore:PG

Company:

Robson Entertainment

Quotes:

[first lines]
title card: May 2001. Erik Weihenmayer attempts to be the first blind man to summit Mount Everest.

Soundtrack:

Ice Palace

Among Mountains

This interesting documentary tells a remarkable tale of an expedition to take blind Tibetan children trekking in the Himalayas; but also of a personality clash between two remarkable people. On one hand, there is Erik Weihenmeyer, the first blind man to climb Everest, and the team of (sighted) mountaineers who are guiding the kids. On the other, there is Sabriye Tenberken, a blind woman who runs the first school for blind Tibetans, who agrees to the expedition but subsequently has doubts about how it is progressing. At some level, Sabine simply doesn't understand the mountaineer's philosophy (with it's emphasis on summitting); she is probably right in identifying the mismatch between the mountaineers goals and the desires of the children but her certainty in her own correctness makes her a hard person to sympathise with, especially as she has an effective veto. In the background to this (reasonably well-mannered) clash, we get an insight into the lives of the children themselves. I enjoyed the film, although it delivers a message clearly designed to be uplifting - even though it details the quarrel, the film somewhat relentlessly asserts how amazing all those who feature in it are. But it's hard to argue with that assessment, even if it is presented to the viewer somewhat unsubtly.