How many among us instinctively close our eyes in the darkness of a movie theatre, unexpectedly overcome by an emotion, whether it'd be fear, commotion or anger, remaining alone, only in the company of the actors' voices? Try to think about the contrary: actors reading their script without seeing anyone, not the other protagonists in the movie, not the director, not even the camera. Yes, there exists a movie with only blind actors, directed by a blind director, made up by a make-up artist who is blind (who, naturally, recites!).
Or better yet, it will exist, because it is now in production in Israel, by director Dina Guder with the assistance of the Director of the Service Centre for Blind People of Ramat Gan, Yaeli Rokach. It is an experiment which is not professional per se; it is developed thanks to the passion of the concerned protagonists.
And it requires an important physical and
psychological commitment because the takes are done only during a couple
of hours a week. But in those two hours, everyone does their best. The
classic clapper takes on a particular importance because actors have to
work within the spaces defined by the range of the camera. And it is not
using too much a rhetorical image to say that they are guided by the
Director, since the voice takes on an even greater role as a referent not
only in the creative process, but also in moving about on the set. That
the Director be blind is really not so important. The basic prerequisite
being that he convey to the actors ideas and emotions, so that they in
turn can project it on film reaching the heart of spectators. And it will
always be with words that the spectator will find a way to talk about the
emotions experienced in front of the screen, which rarely coincides with
those at the basis of the Director's creative idea.
Cinema is moreover pure emotion; it is the interpretation of gestures, expressions and words. It can take on the appearance of a political oeuvre, certainly pertinent in Israel. However, it is not the point, from the moment that on the stage emotions and affections are felt. The story tells about two young people meeting and falling in love. She is blind, he is not. They get close, they get to know each other and they adapt to each other, not without difficulty but with eventual success.
Then, unexpectedly, he will also become blind, and he will necessarily learn the small truths about her condition, lost before despite the efforts raised by feelings. It is a movie that must not be seen with curiosity because it was done with different people, but for whom appreciates diversity, it can have meaning with a special touch.