Land of the Blind (film)

Infobox_Film
name = Land of the Blind

---

caption = Land of the Blind Promotional Movie Poster
imdb_id = 0433405
writer = Robert Edwards
starring = Donald Sutherland
Ralph Fiennes
Tom Hollander
Lara Flynn Boyle
director = Robert Edwards
producer = Philippe Martinez
Jon Avnet
Alan Latham
Cerise Hallam Larkin
Stanley Roup
cinematography = Emmanuel Kadosh
music = Guy Farley
Doug Edwards
editing = Ferne Pearlstein
distributor =Bauer Martinez Entertainment
released =June 16, 2006
runtime =101 min
language = English
budget =

"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. The title is taken from the saying "In the Land of the Blind, the one-eyed man is King".

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Other historical references in the film include Jean-Paul Marat (from the French Revolution), Kim Jong-Il, Fidel Castro, Benito Mussolini, Augusto Pinochet, Francois Duvalier, Rudolph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

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.

Quotes

*"Re-education Camp Director": What is the color of the sky?:"Camp Detainees": Red.:"Re-education Camp Director": And what is red?:"Camp Detainees": (covered by narration):"Re-education Camp Director": And what is the law?:"Camp Detainees": Not to eat meat. Are we not men?:"Re-education Camp Director": And what have we learned?:"Camp Detainees": The nail that sticks up gets hammered down.
*:"Re-education Camp Director": A stale piece of bread is better than nothing. And nothing is better than a big juicy steak. 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."

Cast

*Donald Sutherland —- Thorne
*Lara Flynn Boyle —- First Lady
*Marc Warren —- Pool
*Ralph Fiennes —- Joe
*Tom Hollander —- Maximilian II (a.k.a. "Junior")

Notes

The [http://www.moviescoremedia.com/landoftheblind.html Original Motion Picture Soundtrack] for Land of the Blind by Guy Farley and Doug Edwards is available at [http://www.moviescoremedia.com/landoftheblind.html MovieScore Media] .

References

External links

*
* [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,7943-2076056,00.html "Sitting in the dock of the Bay: Ralph Fiennes talks about movies of conscience"] , "Times" Online, 9 March 2006
* [http://www.newstatesman.com/200603200039 "Rights and Wrongs," New Statesman]
* [http://www.timeout.com/newyork/articles/film/6259/land-of-the-blind Time Out New York, "Land of the Blind"]
* [http://efilmcritic.com/feature.php?feature=2043 "Pretty shocking stuff. A very provocative film," Jeffrey Lyons]
* Holden, Stephen. [http://movies2.nytimes.com/2006/06/16/movies/16blin.html "Meet the New Boss, Once Again, in 'Land of the Blind'"] , "The New York Times", 16 June 2006
* Schwarzbaum, Lisa. [http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,1204244,00.html Review] in "Entertainment Weekly"
* [http://ralph-fiennes.net/filmography/lotb/film_lotb.php?id=12 "Land of the Blind"] , "New York Sun"
*
* [http://movies.monstersandcritics.com/archive/moviearchive.php/Land_of_the_Blind/7345 Monsters and Critics Interview: Director Robert Edwards]
* [http://www.mcnblogs.com/reeler/archives/2006/06/fiennes_edwards_lead_the_blind.html "Fiennes, Edwards Lead the 'Blind' Once More in Tribeca," The Reeler]
* [http://www.greencine.com/central/node/225?page=0%2C2 "Laughing in the Dark with Robert Edwards," GreenCine]

* Composer, [http://www.moviescoremedia.com/farley.html Guy Farley]
* Composer, [http://www.doug-edwards.com Doug Edwards]