Film Review — Notes on Blindness

The paradox of a visually stunning film about being blind.

Film, as a medium, is something absolutely unique. The manner in which sight, sound, and cognition are given the arena to work in tandem is unlike any other form of art. However, few films utilize the fullness of its potential so powerfully as the new short film Notes on Blindness.

Notes on Blindness is a breathtaking visual essay on the physical and spiritual experience of being blind. Mixing documentary, dramatization, and remarkable sound design, the film allows us to descend into the thoughts and experience of a man dealing with life without sight.

The gorgeous cinematography accompanied by esoteric voice-over produce an effect very reminiscent of the films of Terrence Malick. The film even shares themes and faith, family, and of man’s experience of natural beauty, which are practically Malick’s calling card. Yet this short feels much more grounded than Malick’s work, perhaps because the audio is from the actual diary recordings of writer and theologian John Hull, who lost the last of his sight in 1983. The emotion is not one contrived on a movie set or in a recording booth or even via a poets pen, but that of a person actually grappling with the loss of all visual stimuli.

The paradox of interpreting the experience of blindness with such beautiful visuals is not lost on the film makers. Directors Peter Middleton and James Spinney write candidly about the contradiction in an accompanying article on the New York times Op-Docs site, which premiered the short. For the sighted audience, watching the beautiful imagery becomes all the more poignant hearing Hull’s experience of loss. However, for all the claustrophobia of the first two parts of the film, the final act explores a sort of revelry that allows a visceral experience beyond the individual experiences of sight and sound. The finale leaves the viewer deeply thoughtful and appreciative of the ability to experience beauty.

I recommend watching the short in a dim room, free from distraction, so as to allow the richness of the sound design and the accompanying visuals wash over you. The filmmakers are currently in the process of creating a feature film based upon the short, to be titled ‘Into Darkness’.

Notes on Blindness from The New York Times — Video on Vimeo.

Originally published at thecommonvision.org on March 3, 2014.