Die Stadt der Blinden (2008)

Die Stadt der Blinden: Directed by Fernando Meirelles. With Yûsuke Iseya, Jason Bermingham, Eduardo Semerjian, Don McKellar. A city is ravaged by an epidemic of instant white blindness.

“u0026quot;If it can be written, or thought, it can be filmedu0026quot;, said the great Stanley Kubrick, who adapted most of his films from novels and turned them into his own films, rather than being too literal (or faithful, if you prefer) to the source material (and often turning authors and fans of the adapted novels crazy – Stephen King, anyone?). I agree with his statement. No literary work is u0026quot;unfilmableu0026quot; – which doesnu0026#39;t necessarily mean any literary work, good or bad, can be turned into a good movie. However, in spite of a few flaws, u0026quot;Blindnessu0026quot; is a very efficient adaptation of a brilliant (and very complex) novel by Portuguese author José Saramago, u0026quot;Ensaio Sobre a Cegueirau0026quot; (literally, u0026quot;Essay About Blindnessu0026quot;), and doesnu0026#39;t deserve all the bad reviews itu0026#39;s been getting.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe negative reaction towards the film doesnu0026#39;t surprise me at all, though. Fernando Meirelles, after getting world acclaim with his neoclassic u0026quot;City of Godu0026quot;, made a very successful transition to an international project with the beautiful u0026quot;The Constant Gardeneru0026quot;. His sophomore English project is very daring and dark, uneasy to watch at times, but also compelling and thought-provoking.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eCésar Charloneu0026#39;s exquisite cinematography sets the tone for the story of an unexplained u0026quot;white blindnessu0026quot; epidemic. Itu0026#39;s also a huge asset to have such a phenomenal actress like Julianne Moore to play the filmu0026#39;s heroine: as always, she has a strong presence and is extremely expressive, making everyone believe and feel for her characteru0026#39;s cross of being the only one who can see in a chaotic quarantine, where people have to submit to violence and rape in order to survive.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eMy only major complaint is about the uneven first 20 minutes or so: some sequences seem a little disjointed and the acting somewhat amateurish, but once the first act is done the film finds its own pace and strength. Roger Ebert called it u0026quot;one of the most unpleasant, not to say unendurable, filmsu0026quot; heu0026#39;s ever seen. For a start, it would be stupid to assume a film with such a dark premise would be uplifting (and if Ebert had the slightest knowledge about the material itu0026#39;s based on, heu0026#39;d realize what he was up for), so his comment is unintelligent and atrocious like the majority of everything heu0026#39;s ever written (but heu0026#39;s a widely popular Pulitzer-winning film critic, so unfortunately lots of people trust his opinion before going to see a movie). Even though I still prefer the outstanding novel to the film, I admire director Fernando Meirelles and writer Don McKellaru0026#39;s adaptation for what it is: smart, daring and respectful to its source material, without being overtly faithful or afraid of taking risks. And Saramago himself approved the film, so who are we to criticize? The man knows what heu0026#39;s talking about; if you want to see it for yourself, read his novel now and then compare it to this film, appreciating it not as a literary work, but as the good piece of cinema it is. 8/10.”