Blindness (2008)

A city is ravaged by an epidemic of instant white blindness.

Director:

Fernando Meirelles

Writers:

José Saramago (novel), Don McKellar (screenplay)

Stars:

Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Gael García Bernal

15 wins & 20 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Yûsuke Iseya	...	First Blind Man
Jason Bermingham	...	Driver #1
Eduardo Semerjian	...	Concerned Pedestrian #1
Don McKellar	...	Thief
Ciça Meirelles	...	Driver #2
Antônio Fragoso	...	Concerned Pedestrian #2
Lilian Blanc	...	Concerned Pedestrian #3
Douglas Silva	...	Onlooker #1
Daniel Zettel	...	Onlooker #2
Yoshino Kimura	...	First Blind Man's Wife
Joe Pingue	...	Taxi Driver
Susan Coyne	...	Receptionist
Fabiana Gugli	...	Mother of the Boy
Mitchell Nye	...	Boy
Danny Glover	...	Man with Black Eye Patch

Storyline

A city is ravaged by an epidemic of instant "white blindness". Those first afflicted are quarantined by the authorities in an abandoned mental hospital where the newly created "society of the blind" quickly breaks down. Criminals and the physically powerful prey upon the weak, hoarding the meager food rations and committing horrific acts. There is, however, one eyewitness to the nightmare. A woman whose sight is unaffected by the plague follows her afflicted husband to quarantine. There, keeping her sight a secret, she guides seven strangers who have become, in essence, a family. She leads them out of quarantine and onto the ravaged streets of the city, which has seen all vestiges of civilization crumble.

---

Plot Keywords:

blindness | quarantine | epidemic | hospital | dystopia | 

---

Taglines:

Hope is blind.

---

Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

Brazil Canada Japan UK Italy

Language:

English Japanese

Release Date:

3 October 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Blindness

Filming Locations:

Minhocão, Via Elevada Presidente João Goulart, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,950,260, 5 October 2008

Gross USA:

$3,351,751

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$19,844,979

Company Credits

Production Co:

Rhombus Media, O2 Filmes, Bee Vine Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

121 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Several images in the film, are directly lifted from the paintings of Lucian Freud. These include the nude woman laying face down on the bed in the mental hospital, as well as the man laying on his back, with his arm over his face, with a whippet at his side.

---

Goofs

When the Doctor's wife is boiling water, there should not be any sound, because the kettle does not have a whistle cap on it.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
First Blind Man: I'm blind.

---

Connections

References Repulsion (1965)

---

Soundtracks

The Hexagrams
Written by Marco Antônio Guimarães
(c) 1993 Uakti Music - Used by Permission
Performed by Marco Antônio Guimarães (as Uakti)
Provided courtesy of Decca Label Group

User Reviews

A realistic "look" at the real archetype behind end times scenarios

Talk about surprise! I had some idea of what this film entailed, but truly the whole experience made me glad I saw this. Not for a totally glad tidings, happily ever after or RAW, unadulterated slasher gore fest. I was just glad to see a real film. Not many out there these days; too much want of more action or sex or whatever sissy visionaries pander to a certain age group. No drivel here, though of course sometimes I hated the main characters.

But that shows I got into this film.

Now as some have learned, especially when it comes to the genre of apocalyptic scenarios or doomsdays, the most predominant archetype that comes to mind is the zombie end times sort. But of course anyone in the know will understand that the whole zombie thing is but a metaphor for total breakdown of modern law, structure and moral scruples. And so we have this film called blindness. What people do when widespread panic strikes due to an epidemic that grows in uncalculated strides is pretty obvious: " there's panic in the streets of London". Well not just London, but everywhere. Sheer panic. And also the need for that same normalcy , that same grasp of lifestyle we all take for granted along with whats most important, our ability to live itself. Our senses, though heavily relied upon, when gone leave us with much straining and yoking for what we could have, what might have been...yadda yadda.

In summation this film was real enough to be a thriller on the most basic of animalistic, raw , easy to understand human level. Not for kids unless they are teens, not a movie for lovers , family, just a mature movie about the sanctity of life and why we must always remember how precious it is, and how grateful we should be to have all our faculties. NOw go watch the film and live ya lil monsters =p