Blindness

WOW. This is one heavy film. Being a fan of the disaster/post-apocalyptic genre, when I found out that Fernando Meirelles the director of the equally heavy 'City of God' and also recently 'The Constant Gardener', I had to check it out. This film is full of star power coming from the likes of Mark Ruffalo, Julianne Moore, Danny Glover, and Gael García Bernal, and for the most part they do what they can with what they are given. But this is not a character driven film, its storyline is one that is meant to probe the darkest parts of the human condition. There is a Lord of Flies quality to this film about a large group of people (eventually the world) who are suddenly struck with a mysterious case of, well, blindness. The government of course immediately quarantines them to a building with different wards and, other then regular food drops, leaves them to fend for themselves.
Julianne Moore is inexplicably the only person who is not struck with the illness, but pretends to be blind in order to go into quarantine with her husband, Mark Ruffalo. Her performance is the most starling, as she has to secretly bear the burden of those within her ward literally can't care for themselves. When they all eventually realize they are on their own, issues of order (democracy) and morality are relentlessly thrown at the viewer. At times it felt as if it might be more than I could handle. Especially when Gael García Bernal's character comes onto the seen proceeds to take charge of food rationing, in exchange for unreasonable demands. Although the film is well done, my recommendation is to only see this film if you have a strong stomach and a firm moral foundation. Otherwise you may find yourself severely depressed and your faith in mankind shaken. While I respect 'Blindness' for its unflinching look at the dark side of human nature, I cannot think of a time when I would ever want to watch it again. Even a hopeful ending just isn't enough.

***WARNING - SO YOUR NOT AS UNPREPARED AS I WAS - THIS FILM CONTAINS LOTS OF NUDITY/RAPE***