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IMDbPro

Land of the Blind

  • 20062006
  • RR
  • 1h 50m
IMDb RATING
6.4/10
3.7K
YOUR RATING
Land of the Blind (2006)
Trailer for this political thriller
Play trailer2:32
1 Video
24 Photos
  • Drama
  • Thriller
A soldier recounts his relationship with a famous political prisoner attempting to overthrow their country's authoritarian government.A soldier recounts his relationship with a famous political prisoner attempting to overthrow their country's authoritarian government.A soldier recounts his relationship with a famous political prisoner attempting to overthrow their country's authoritarian government.
IMDb RATING
6.4/10
3.7K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Robert Edwards
  • Writer
    • Robert Edwards
  • Stars
    • Ralph Fiennes
    • Donald Sutherland
    • Tom Hollander
Top credits
  • Director
    • Robert Edwards
  • Writer
    • Robert Edwards
  • Stars
    • Ralph Fiennes
    • Donald Sutherland
    • Tom Hollander
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 46User reviews
    • 16Critic reviews
    • 32Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 nomination

    Videos1

    Land of the Blind
    Trailer 2:32
    Land of the Blind

    Photos24

    Land of the Blind (2006)
    Ralph Fiennes in Land of the Blind (2006)
    Ralph Fiennes in Land of the Blind (2006)
    Ralph Fiennes in Land of the Blind (2006)
    Ralph Fiennes in Land of the Blind (2006)
    Ralph Fiennes in Land of the Blind (2006)
    Ralph Fiennes in Land of the Blind (2006)
    Donald Sutherland in Land of the Blind (2006)
    Ralph Fiennes in Land of the Blind (2006)
    Lara Flynn Boyle in Land of the Blind (2006)
    Ralph Fiennes in Land of the Blind (2006)
    Ralph Fiennes in Land of the Blind (2006)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Ralph Fiennes
    Ralph Fiennes
    • Joeas Joe
    Donald Sutherland
    Donald Sutherland
    • Thorneas Thorne
    Tom Hollander
    Tom Hollander
    • Maximilian IIas Maximilian II
    Lara Flynn Boyle
    Lara Flynn Boyle
    • First Ladyas First Lady
    Marc Warren
    Marc Warren
    • Poolas Pool
    Ron Cook
    Ron Cook
    • Docas Doc
    Robert Daws
    Robert Daws
    • Jonesas Jones
    Laura Fraser
    Laura Fraser
    • Madeleineas Madeleine
    Jonathan Hyde
    Jonathan Hyde
    • Smithas Smith
    Camilla Rutherford
    Camilla Rutherford
    • Taniaas Tania
    Don Warrington
    Don Warrington
    • First Sergeantas First Sergeant
    Miranda Raison
    Miranda Raison
    • Daisyas Daisy
    Nigel Whitmey
    Nigel Whitmey
    • Anchormanas Anchorman
    Leigh Zimmerman
    • Anchorwomanas Anchorwoman
    Mackenzie Crook
    Mackenzie Crook
    • Editoras Editor
    Cory McAbee
    • Torturer - Mister Saltyas Torturer - Mister Salty
    Matthew Marsh
    Matthew Marsh
    • Papa Maxas Papa Max
    Max Harvey
    • Butleras Butler
    • Director
      • Robert Edwards
    • Writer
      • Robert Edwards
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The scene where Thorne makes a television appearance in jail is based on a true event. Jeremiah Denton was a prisoner during the Vietnam War and appeared in a television interview in 1966. He spoke that he was being treated well, but passed on the message "Torture" by blinking Morse code.
    • Quotes

      First Sergeant: If I catch you bull shitting with the prisoners again, especially that prisoner, I'll beat you like a red-headed stepchild, and skull-fuck your corpse.

    • Connections
      Features Electrocuting an Elephant (1903)
    • Soundtracks
      Nellie The Elephant
      Written by Ralph T. Butler (as Ralph Butler) and Peter Hart

    User reviews46

    Review
    Top review
    9/10
    Brilliant. A dark comic thriller and razor-sharp political satire.
    'Land of the Blind' is a brilliant, darkly comic thriller - a sardonic fable about power politics. It's at once deeply absurd and deadly serious, and I loved every minute of it.

    The movie takes place in an unnamed country, an outlandish mix of Haiti, Iran, pre- revolutionary France, and suburban London. It's a get-along or find-yourself-in-a-re- education-camp kind of place.

    The film plays as both taut political thriller and broad farce. It's a grim sign of the times that even the most outlandish aspects of this world feel like political deja-vu. Politicians are voted in based on their acting credentials; the President-for-Life is also a self-styled auteur of 'B' action movies; the sycophantic TV news-anchors remain upbeat and bubbly as they bend to the political winds, switching cheerily from Brooks Brothers to burqas.

    At the heart of the movie is the relationship between imprisoned playwright Thorne (Donald Sutherland) and the man who guards him - Joe (Ralph Feinnes.) Thorne is a tortured man in possession of a brilliant mind, who's been reduced to writing on the walls of his cell with his own excrement.

    Joe works for Junior, the buffoonish but cunning dictator played brilliantly by Tom Hollander. Junior is part infant terrible, part cold-blooded killer. Some will see parallels between him and other political leaders - the wealthy, goofy President trying to live up to the image of his father, the manipulation of a nation's fear of terrorism to hide gross abuses of power, etc.

    Joe is cursed with a moral compass. He comes to recognize Junior as evil, but struggles with whether betrayal of the regime is the same as betrayal of his country. At first, Thorne looks like Joe's savior. But the question of whether Thorne is a Vaclav Havel - an intellectual who could save his country, or an Abimael Guzman – the imprisoned Peruvian professor and leader of the Shining Path terrorists, is grimly answered in the movie's closing act.

    The cast is remarkable, nothing you wouldn't expect from Fiennes and Sutherland, and Lara Flyn Boyle does a terrifically dark and funny Lady Macbeth as Junior's wife. But Tom Hollander's performance deserves special note. Junior is now my favorite movie villain, ever. Frankly, I'd never heard of Hollander before, but here he turns in such a spectacularly comic and sinister performance that I've now Netflixed all of his other movies. If there's justice in this world (and according to this movie, there's not), Hollander would get an Oscar and a huge career out of this film.

    LOTB a highly stylized, gorgeously shot movie – the rich production design and cinematography beg comparison to Terry Gilliam's 'Brazil' and Jeunet & Caro's 'Delicatessen'. Like those films, LOTB also takes place in a surreal dystopia that feels physically warped by abuses of power. Also, like those films, LOTB is darkly cynical and very, very funny.

    It's a rare pleasure to see this kind of razor-sharp satire wrapped in a thrilling, artful, and well-crafted piece of story telling.
    helpful•59
    16
    • emailkim
    • Mar 20, 2006

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 25, 2007 (Portugal)
    • Countries of origin
      • United Kingdom
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • 盲者之國
    • Filming locations
      • London, England, UK
    • Production companies
      • Avnet/Kerner Productions
      • Bauer Martinez Studios
      • Brooklyn Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $18,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $5,244
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $5,244
      • Jun 18, 2006
    • Gross worldwide
      • $25,116
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 50 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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