Notes on Blindness

source: Notes on Blindness

This documentary/drama has a very unique style that I haven't seen before. They used the original voice recordings of these documented people and had the actors act and lip-sync to the recordings which must've been an interesting challenge. It has very nice cinematography, soundtrack and sound design. I was particularly interested in this documentary as I recently met 2 incredible blind musicians and was curious to learn more about blindness. However this is not really a documentary about blindness but more about how this guy personally reacts to his situation. There were some very captivating moments though. A theology academic named John Hull goes blind due to an illness and has to learn how to adapt to his new life.

I managed to make it through this movie on a streaming service so I was able to press pause several times. Frustrating often- I felt I would've rather listened to his story without the attempt to add the visual pictures -although every so often the exquisite contrast of time spent in nature was beautiful. During his visit to Melbourne he was commenting on how nothing seemed any different and it was so disconcerting to him and I kept wondering what about your sense of smell? I notice that when I go to different places especially when traveling by air. So that part didn't seem realistic to me although if it was his experience who am I to argue with it. Another frustration - at the end -the words superimposed on the view flew by on the screen so quickly and were a color very difficult to read against the sky - ironic since the whole subject matter was about blindness- couldn't they find a better type face? I Found it necessary to pause and rewind several times in order to understand what the information was that was being presented at the end. Criticisms aside I was very moved toward the end (especially after the arduous journey of experiencing earlier parts of the film) when he spoke about his experience of feeling the divine presence and Grace surrounding him. That truly moved me and then his realizing that his blindness was a gift the question- was not why me ? But what do I do with it. That was the golden moment and the emotional connection I made with this film. Perhaps those who have rated it so highly saw it on a large screen and were somehow able to enter into the world more- for me I never really felt a connection with what was going on until that one part I described just above. The effect of having the screen dark black at frequent intervals throughout the story was disconcerting and I suppose intentional to jar the viewer into experiencing somehow what a blind person who has lost their sight would feel -however it didn't really contribute to the film -to me it was pulling me out of it rather than pulling me in.

It's very rare these days to find movies such as this one. It's almost unbelievable that just ninety minutes can deliver so much. It's a journey through a man's life as it gradually darkens until eventually everything disappears. The way the story is told is by listening John recording his thoughts and his emotions on cassettes - a sort of spoken diary. Notes, as he calls them. It's also a tough journey to listen to because there's nothing positive --you'll agree -- that going blind might get you, and the way this is exposed makes it feel almost real. His thoughts are not going to be easy on you. They are going to resonate in your mind as knives. When you lose so much, you'll see the void it leaves even from the smallest things you wouldn't notice otherwise. And this is felt many times throughout the movie. He says he was lucky to have had his loved ones alongside him all the time. This, however, will also prove hard to weigh on your shoulders because you'll face several times to be simply useless to others. Also, what can you reply to your daughter saying: "if I cried and my tears fell on your eyes, would you be able to see again?"? I was speechless after those word. Hard words. I've watched it today. I'm certain it will not be the only time. Ensure not to miss it.

(Flash Review) Imagine going blind just before the birth of your first child!? That's a bit of a Debbie Downer. That is what happened to writer and theologian John Hull in 1983. His story is told very uniquely through his diary of tape recordings as he documented his traumatic experience while actors lip synced to the recordings. That creative approach was nicely complimented with cinematography that put the viewer in the atmosphere of blindness as much as one can in a visual medium. Many scenes were awkwardly framed with soft and shifting focus. It often felt like a Mark Rothko painting. Anyway, Mr. Hull recorded a plethora of tapes to capture the feeling of being blind, not from the big obvious points, but by highlighting how blindness effects the little things in life such as smiling and how not being able to see a person smile back at you made him feel like smiling is less enjoyable. Overall, this was a slower paced film that effectively portrayed Mr. Hull coming to terms, find reasons for and solutions to living with his blindness.

Every once in a while a film is made that captures an experience many of us will never encounter, but are richer for learning about said experience. John Hull's academic approach to life has provided a prolific archive of sound recordings documenting his experience with his blindness. Directors/ Writers Middleton and Spinney have provided a cinematic experience of blindness for the seeing. This poetic and inspiring film introduces the world to a remarkably bright, sensitive and expressive human being.

At the beginning of this film onscreen text informs you that John Hull went blind in the 80s and subsequently kept an audio diary. Those original recordings are now used in the film and the actors lip sync to them... It's a beautiful idea and instantly grabs you in this really personal and at times heartbreaking story. Ultimately though, this is expertly crafted and awe-inspiring. It's a theological study as much as a practical one, but John's resolve really leaves you wondering how you'd cope yourself, if you could be as strong. Going blind is a scary thought, but John Hull proves without doubt it need not be.

Just go and watch it! what an amazing movie, whatever movie style/type you like, I guarantee you you will love this movie, a must watch! It really introduced an amazing story with real events and the recorded voices, immersive scenery and environment/emotions and perfect acting. 10/10. perfect.

I usually don't go in to a film totally blind (no pun intended), so I knew it was about a theologian who slowly goes blind and decides to keep recordings of his blindness. Interesting enough. Somehow I delayed watching it until now. I am here to tell you it is a truly rewarding experience. Don't let the title put you off. Slowly and surely you'll be immersed in John Hull's baritone voice with his succinct observations on life. And you will applaud his caring family who are always by his side. Rain drops have taken on a whole new meaning for me now.

This is a strange and powerful film. It's basically a documentary, with the parts of the people involved portrayed on screen by actors, lip-synching the real life words of the participants. It makes for an other-worldly experience, that's gives a deep insight in to the at once familiar but also utterly alien the main protagonist is forced to inhabit. The film relates the experiences of John Hull, a writer and theologian who found himself losing his sight just before the birth of his first child. To make sense of his experiences he taped his thoughts - first, reflections on the more practical part of his experiences. As someone who needed to read for his work, for example, he went searching for audiobooks of the academic texts he needed. He discovered that it was assumed that 'blind people don't read big books'; so with an army of friends and families, a library of his books was committed to tape. As time passes he discovers he needs to understand the condition itself, not just the practicalities of it; he'd found himself so busy preparing for and learning to live with blindness that it prevented him for understanding it. He had to learn to think about his condition: 'If I didn't understand, it would defeat me'. So begins a series of profound reflections which, as a person who has lived with chronic pain for 20 years, I find very resonant and truthful. The person offering a miracle cure (hypnotherapy) who can't accept John's insistence that his eyes won't just grow back; the people who say he doesn't want his sight back because he seems to have adjusted to it. If we complain about our condition, we're classified as defeatist moaners; if we accept it (as we have to), we've given up (especially as Christians). Onlookers seem only to have categories for the heroic overcomer or pathetic victim; there's no room for someone to keep on, keeping on. The reflection that 'everyday I wake up, I've lost my sight again'; a painfully truthful expression of the reality that every day I wake up, I'm in pain again. The reflection on why bad things happen to Christians - 'why shouldn't they happen to me?'; a line I've used myself. This struggle seems to be a bigger one for the people around us, then for the sufferers ourselves. As he says 'I don't regard faith as a shield against the normal ups and downs of life'. His child screams; they rush to discover it's a finger trapped in a door, but even so he's impotent. "The discovery that you're useless is not a nice discovery for a father to make'; how true. I lie some days in pain, aware of my enforced physical absence from my children and my apparent uselessness as a result. There are many more moments to reflect on, but the surreal and moving conclusion is the most weighty, as John's dreams are shown melting in to on-screen reality. He ends at a point where blindness (chronic illness) either enables in the sufferer some kind of rebirth, or it destroys you. As he says this, him and his family are soaked in rain, a symbolic baptism and regeneration. It's truthful, healing and challenging all at once. A unique and wonderful film, to be lived with and drunk deep from - especially for chronic illness sufferers and those who travel with them.