JoseSaramago Tagged Articles at Cinematical

After years of turning down any and all parties who inquired after the film rights for his novel Blindness, Nobel Prize-winning novelist Jose Saramago finally relented to the director-writer team of Fernando Meirelles and Don McKellar after years of cajoling and convincing. McKellar also has a part in the final film, a sprawling story of ruin and redemption that spanned the globe in its production that's been significantly re-cut -- and significiantly improved -- from the version first unveilled in Cannes in May. McKellar spoke with Cinematical in Toronto about the re-cut version of the film, the secret thread between his brilliant directorial debut Last Night and Blindness (" ... my paranoia about the apocalypse hadn't been resolved yet ..."), how Hurricane Katrina influenced the look of Blindness, the need for humor at the end of the world and much more. ...

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UPDATE: Here's the trailer in Quicktime quality.

Of all the films I'm looking forward to this fall, Blindness ranks fairly high up there. Canadian distributor Alliance has just made available a full trailer that proves to be fairly intriguing, as an optometrist (Mark Ruffalo) and his seemingly immune wife (Julianne Moore) cope with an inexplicable epidemic of sight loss.

I'm a sucker for most anything vaguely apocalyptic, and while this very well could turn out to be akin to watching the first act of Children of Men through a milk-filled mask (which I've done, mind you), the prestige behind the project* says otherwise. We have acclaimed screenwriter Don McKellar adapting Nobel-Laureate José Saramago's novel, with Academy Award nominee Fernando Meirelles directing a cast that also includes Danny Glover, Gael Garcia Bernal, Alice Braga, and Sandra Oh.

I must say, going off that taste and last spring's teaser, I still like the look, sound, and feel of this one, especially Moore's little retort (you know the one), and that's not to mention that any trailer which employs John Murphy's underrated score from last year's Sunshine to set a rightfully ominous tone is always fine by me. We'll get to see (sorry) what trials and tribulations await the world on September 19th.

*Not to mention Rocchi's review of the film from its Cannes world premiere.

Fernando Meirelles's new film Blindness begins with the rush and push of urban life; traffic, crowds, activity, purpose. And then, one man cries out: "I'm blind." He eventually makes it to an ophthalmologist, but there's nothing physically wrong with his eyes; he simply can't see. "It feels like I'm swimming in milk," he explains, and we see, through his eyes, the blank, empty swirl of what used to be the world. And then another person says they are blind, and then another, and soon those few, frightened voices form a chorus of chaos as "the White Sickness" spreads like wildfire and leaves a ruined world in its wake.

Adapting Nobel Prize winner Jose Saramago's novel, Blindness feels like a curious mix of highbrow literary aspirations and lowbrow genre fiction; as the White Sickness spreads from person to person in a clear chain of connection and things fall apart, it'd be easy to dismiss Blindness as Dawn of the Dead for NPR listeners or Outbreak for grad students. Meirreles has taken a similar two-pronged approach before -- The Constant Gardener is an excellent critique of the failings of modern capitalism that also works as a strong, suspenseful thriller -- and while Blindness may not work as well as that film, it's also a clear case of a film, and filmmaker, failing to hit the mark occasionally only because they've set the bar so high for themselves.

We thought this looked awesome last summer, and now we have some confirmation. MSN has posted a teaser trailer for Blindness, Fernando Meirelles' apocalyptic thriller based on the novel by José Saramago, and it creeps me out. The movie is about a blindness epidemic that sweeps through a city, afflicting everyone except one woman (Julianne Moore) who is apparently immune. She's then forced to feign blindness (Why? If no one else can see, what's the difference?) to care for her husband (Mark Ruffalo) as everything around them goes to hell. The tonal shift at the beginning of the teaser is genuinely startling, maybe because the upbeat music doesn't stop playing as you'd expect, or maybe because it deals with something that is one of this cinephile's worst nightmares.

I like Meirelles' City of God as much as the next guy, but the real reason I'm excited for this is that the screenplay is written by Don McKellar, whose previous stab at depicting the end of the world, Last Night, is one of my favorite films (with one of the most perfect endings of all time). Blindness is expected to play the Toronto Film Festival this September, with a US release slated for October. Can anyone who's read the book give us some (non-spoiler) hints of what to expect?

[hat tip: comingsoon.net]

It's official, Mark Ruffalo will pretend to be a doctor with no sight in the upcoming film Blindness. See, he doesn't start out with no sight but is struck with the devastating ailment during the film -- actually, that's what the flick is about. Ruffalo takes over for Daniel Craig who dropped out of the project due to scheduling conflicts. Blindness is based on the novel by Jose Saramago, and revolves around a town that erupts with a blinding epidemic. Everyone is affected except Ruffalo's wife, played by the oh-so-wonderful Julianne Moore (someone please hand her an Oscar!)

Ruffalo's senses are far from taking a break anytime soon. He's been working non-stop since Zodiac (probably before that even) and will begin filming Blindness in Brazil following the three films he just wrapped. He is currently working with the likes of Terry George and Spike Jonze. Blindness will be directed by Fernando Meirelles who is responsible for 2005's Constant Gardner and the sad but beautiful film about Brazilian street gangs City of God. With the stellar cast and more than able director you would have to be blind not to see something good in the making.