Ensaio Sobre a Cegueira

Algumas boas cenas psicologicamente tensas e um impressionante cenário pós-apocalíptico no último terço, versus o comportamento exemplarmente idiota dos personagens, que enterrou todo o potencial da matéria interessante. O filme é tão pouco disposto a fazer da personagem principal uma «heroína de Hollywood» que faz com que o espetador pareça um idiota. Refiro-me aos acontecimentos na sala de quarentena, que, dadas as circunstâncias, não precisam de ter acontecido de todo. Mesmo o conceito de quarentena no início da epidemia era irrealista e inacreditável. Um grupo de pessoas que, por alguma razão inexplicável, tinham perdido a vista serem isoladas pelo Estado de uma forma tão anti-social, como zombies indesejados, e disparar a elas de metralhadora de mão se elas se afastarem a um metro de distância do grupo, andando por um corredor, rodeadas por muros de betão de cinco metros de altura?? E a bizarra, por vezes totalmente inapropriada banda sonora (música cómica perversa em cenas onde é suposto ter arrepios) certamente não acrescentou nada ao seu crédito. Sou muito mais um espetador emocional do que um explorador de buracos lógicos sem sentido de probabilidade, mas isto foi demais. (25/11/2012)

In the hands of Fernando Meirelles, a smart script brimming with ideas becomes a captivating and very powerful psychological drama that will delight many viewers. And maybe there will be just as many people unable to think beyond the delicately tapped motifs, the resolution of which is left outside the film (otherwise it would be much longer) – and they will be guided to the third section, where they might feel well… Personally, I think Blindness is a far more interesting film that the celebrated City of God. (23/12/2008)

If there is anything I hate from the bottom of my soul, then it’s these hollow "Shyamalan" mysterious too-art almost allegories, which are, at their cores, built a) on stupid psychology, b) a tense directing style, which may make one drunk for a while through expressiveness, but they then only kill through unconceptual changes of perspectives and filters, c) on the poser emphasis of the overlap to general metaphysical categories. As long as it looked like a (flimsy) psychological thriller, I was willing to accept it, as soon as it went into a "spiritual" mode, it turned into a repulsive poser film without content. Society in chaos? No, movie speech in spasm. Instead of relief and a flurry of human heat, for the last twenty minutes I felt an urge to see those rotten blind zombies (because they're not characters) die. In fact, Blindness is as banal (if not more banal) as Hollywood disaster movies in which a family is united by disaster. But at least there you can enjoy it. (14/10/2012)

I have long dreamed of someone making an animated film for adults that would play intelligently with a genre, and when I saw Rango in that form, I was quite disappointed. When I saw Outbreak back in the day, I thought this was typical Hollywood stuff, and how nice it would be if someone tried to make it more realistic, like a cruel psychological drama. So I waited and got Blindness, and I was duly punished for my dreams because while I approve of the direction of Blindness, its final form is unfortunately awkward. The film is scattered in terms of the screenplay, essentially wanting to be something like Children of Men, but it lacks Cuaron's brilliant direction above all. While Meirelles does make an effort to depict a city struck by an apocalypse, the atmosphere is still somehow missing, and the film can be considered a unique example of how not to work with characters. I considered giving it three stars, but in this case, it would only be for the effort and subject matter. Overall impression: 45%. It's a shame that when someone actually makes a film like this, it turns out so uninteresting and uninspiring. (25/03/2011)

The merits of the chilling post-apocalyptic atmosphere and the setting are not outweighed by the fatal blunders in the script, the massive lapses in logic and the absurd behaviour of the main characters, or rather the main character, who is the only one without a visual impairment. Similarly implausible is the socio-political aspect, the depiction of the soldiers' approach to the quarantine, and the origin of the disease, which goes unexplained. If this is supposed to be a subliminal social/relationship satire about realising the importance of family togetherness in difficult situations, it has grossly failed. If it is supposed to be a classic mystery-thriller with a hint of apocalypse, it failed too. (16/09/2017)