Land of the Blind (film)

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Land of the Blind

Land of the Blind Promotional Movie Poster
Directed by Robert Edwards
Produced by Philippe Martinez
Jon Avnet
Alan Latham
Cerise Hallam Larkin
Stanley Roup
Written by Robert Edwards
Starring Donald Sutherland
Ralph Fiennes
Tom Hollander
Lara Flynn Boyle
Music by Guy Farley
Doug Edwards
Cinematography Emmanuel Kadosh
Editing by Ferne Pearlstein
Distributed by Bauer Martinez Entertainment
Release date(s) June 16, 2006
Running time 101 min
Language English
IMDb profile

Land of the Blind is a 2006 movie starring Donald Sutherland, Ralph Fiennes, Tom Hollander and Lara Flynn Boyle.

Land of the Blind is a dark political satire, based on several incidents throughout history in which tyrannical rulers were overthrown by new leaders who proved to be just as bad, if not worse, and subtle references are made to several such cases.

"Land of the Blind" had its world premiere in competition at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, and was the Opening Night Gala film at the 2006 Human Rights Watch Film Festival in London. Its U.S. premiere was in competition at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival. The film sparked intense reaction during its festival run, attacked by both left and right, each of which saw the film as a critique of its position.

Other historical references in the film include Marat (from the French Revolution), Kim Jong-Il, Castro, Mussolini, Pinochet, Francois Duvalier, Jean-Claude Duvalier, Lyndon Johnson, Julius Caesar (from Shakespeare's play), Robert Mugabe, the IRA Maze prison protest, U.S. POWs in Vietnam, the Khmer Rouge, and the Cultural Revolution.

Contents

[edit] Plot

Hollander plays Maximilian II, the demented ruler of a troubled land named Everycountry. Maximilian has two main interests: tormenting his underlings and running his country's movie industry. The output of Everycountry's film studios under Maximilian runs to action-adventure schlock such as Out For Vengeance 4.

Maximilian II has proclaimed himself "president for life," which lasts only until guerrilla leader Thorne (Sutherland) leads a raid on the imperial bedroom as Maximilian and wife Josephine (Boyle) are engaged in a kinky sex game involving diapers and a ball gag.

Thorne shoots Maximilian and Josephine and becomes a ruler who governs as absolutely as the deceased Maximilian. Thorne encourages book burnings and sends Everycountry's professional class to grim re-education camps. Frightened females cower underneath burqa-like garments.

Ralph Fiennes plays Joe, a security guard working at the prison where Thorne is kept at the beginning of the movie. At this point, Thorne is a wreck, squatting in a shabby cell, enduring frequent beatings from the other guards and writing revolutionary slogans on the walls with his own feces. Maximilian later takes a risk by letting Thorne out of jail to serve as a government member to gain popular support. Joe, too, is later promoted as a guard of Maximilian's palace, and it is he who betrays Maximilian by letting Thorne and his followers into Maximilian's inner chambers.

Joe is hailed as a hero by Thorne; nevertheless, when Joe realizes that Thorne is just as bad as his predecessor, he refuses to ally himself with the new regime, for this, Thorne has him sent to a re-education camp.

[edit] Quotes

  • Re-education Camp Director: What's better than a big juicy steak?

Camp Detainees: Nothing is better than a big juicy steak! Re-education Camp Director: And what's better than nothing? Camp Detainees: A stale piece of bread is better than nothing! Re-education Camp Director: Therefore a stale piece of bread is better than a big juicy steak.

  • Thorne: I've developed a terrible rash.

Joe: You should have a doctor look at it- Oh! You can't, they've all been sent to the camps!

  • Joe: You sent a man to a re-education camp for wearing glasses!

Thorne: The revolution is not yet perfect, I will concede that.

  • "Under the old government man exploited man, but since the revolution it's the other way around."

[edit] Cast

[edit] Trivia

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The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

The screenplay for “Land of the Blind” won a Nicholl Fellowship from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2001.

The Yeats poem used in the film was substituted after the estate of TS Eliot refused permission for use of “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” and “Preludes.” As the matter was still being negotiated during production, alternate takes were shot using poems from both authors. The Eliot versions have never been released.

Ralph Fiennes’ head is shaved on camera during the film. The shaving had been approved by the producers of “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,” which Fiennes shot immediately after “Land of the Blind,” as they wanted him to have a shaved head for the role of Voldemort.

New York Times reviewer Stephen Holden notes that Land of the Blind contains "profanity and scenes of torture and defecation."

Although Land of the Blind received a hostile critical reception on its initial release, the film has since slowly gained a cult following.

[edit] Notes

The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack for Land of the Blind by Guy Farley and Doug Edwards is available at MovieScore Media.

[edit] References

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[edit] External links