L'aveugle qui ne voulait pas voir le Titanic

Tied with Mar Adentro (2004) for the best film on disabilities ever made. Definitely on my list of the top ten films made this century!

A hidden gem that is by no means an easy watch, but certainly worth the short running time. And it shouldn't be an easy watch, given that we are watching this from the viewing of a blind man paralyzed from the waist down. We should be counting our blessings, as the director has allowed us to see colors, and vague shapes. What we see is blurry figures, other times we get to see clear titles and scenery; as opposed to our protagonist's true fate, black nothing.

Although there are many moments of comedy as well as grace, the disorienting sounds, very deliberate mise en scène, and confusticating cinematography make for quite the unpleasant viewing experience. Add to this the emotional difficulty of watching this brave man fight for something so simple and beautiful as a visit to the girlfriend he has yet to meet in real life, and you have the recipe for some heartwrenching tears. At the climax of the film, talk about anyone's worst nightmare! Aspects of this film would categorize this as horror; more frightening than any slasher film out there. Give me Freddy Krueger or Hannibal Lector any day over being so utterly mentally and physically trapped in such indeterminate circumstances! Kudos to the director for the courage to tackle disability from such an innovative, intimate viewpoint.

A unique vision from an underappreciated director (Teemu Nikki), carried to its full potential by an impressive actor that is both blind and paralyzed from multiple sclerosis in real life (Petri Poikolainen)!

Sokea Mies Joka Ei Halunnut Nähdä Titanicia (or The Blind Man Who Did Not Want To See Titanic for the English title) is a Finnish drama/romance, but not a comedy nor thriller like it's also categorized. There's a long scene where some thugs lack of compassion but other than that there's no thrilling here. Not a bad movie though if you like drama/romances. Petri Poikolainen plays a blind man in a wheelchair because of MS and he was convincing, which shouldn't be a problem to play as he really suffers from that condition. But he was very convincing in his acting, you feel really sorry for him, which is most likely the point of this movie, and you feel happy for him when things turn out good for once. The cinematography could have been better in my opinion. Sometimes it looked shot with cheap material, out of focus scenes that shouldn't have to be. Maybe on purpose at times but sometimes simple and normal is just better.

A touching story about Jaakko, a Finnish man with multiple sclerosis who spends much of his days at home with his long-distance girlfriend Sirpa for company. Jaakko, who is a movie fan and uses a wheelchair, decides to travel to cheer up Sirpa when her health turns for the worse. Along the way, he faces various challenges, but his determination and love for Sirpa drive the narrative.

Director Teemu Nikki films the movie entirely from Jaakko's perspective, keeping him in focus and mostly in close-up while the world around him is a blur. The opening credits are written in braille and read aloud by assistive technology, showing how Jaakko navigates the world as a blind wheelchair user. Petri Poikolainen, who plays Jaakko, brings the character to life with a stoic grace and sardonic wit.

The film highlights the difficulties and barriers faced by blind wheelchair users and the lack of resources to provide assistance, leaving them vulnerable to thieves. It also sheds light on the hostile attitude of the able-bodied world towards people with disabilities.

I was able to catch a screening at my local film festival. Not knowing what the movie was about, I bought a ticket as I was super intrigued by the title. From the film's title, I was expecting some sort of deep symbolic meaning from the film. It turns out the title is exactly what the movie is about. A blind man who did not want to see titanic, well, and a little bit more.

We follow our main character, who is a film lover, especially John Carpenter and James Cameron. He loves Alien, Terminator, The Abyss, but refuses to watch Titanic as he considers it a turd. No joke. Our main character is slowly going blind and paralyzed from the waist down. Every day he talks to a girl on the phone, which is his only daily activity. When he realizes that her health is declining, he decides to go visit her.

This movie is technically perfect. It is able to immerse me and show how someone who is visually impaired lives and how they perceive the world, and in that aspect, this movie already scored a 10 for me. The whole film uses extreme closeups and shallow focus and only uses sound to immerse us in the world of our character, we see nothing but our character's face throughout the whole film, and not one single second was I bored. This technique causes every sound in the background to be heightened, immersing us in the film.

This movie was so hilarious at points I couldn't stop laughing, and I can dare say that it is funnier than many comedies I see nowadays. But don't be fooled, this is also one of the most intense films I have seen in years.

My only problem is the direction the film went; it could have gone any direction it wanted, but it chose the most anxiety-stricken path and placed our character in a situation he did not deserve. It upsets me that the amoral characters in the film never got the comeuppance they deserve. Besides that, this movie is such a great joy to watch, and I can't wait and hope for more people to see it.

9/10.

Now I need to write about what I just watched right? Here we have a movie made from the heart. Made me laugh, made me mad, scared and cry.

What else do you need from a movie?

Besides the strong message about the disabled people, there's also a high value in the director's view of the movie. It's a league of its own as someone else wrote here.

I put it next to CODA which was a movie that made me cry like a little baby. We have to appreciate what we have,our senses.

Extra kudos to the fact that it's made by Finnish people, which always gives you something more,strange and bizarre in everything they do.

Kiitos guys.