Five Good Movies About Blindness

 

People who are blind, have low vision, or are visually impaired are as much a part of our society as those who are not, but they don’t often feature in our entertainment. These movies about blindness or with visually impaired or blind characters give us a peek into a life we might not have thought much about.

Blink (1994). Madeleine Stowe stars as Emma Brody, a musician blinded in an accident as a young girl. A cornea transplant gives Emma her vision back, but also puts her in peril, as she witnesses a murderer leaving the scene of his crime. As she adapts to being sighted once again, she becomes part of the murder investigation run by Aidan Quinn, with mixed results.

Emma is one blind character you won’t soon forget. Stowe is wonderful in this movie, which is riveting and suspenseful from beginning to end.

A Patch of Blue (1965). Sidney Poitier and Shelley Winters shine in this movie of a blind white woman named Selena who is befriended by a black man who doesn’t like the way she is treated by her family. He is kind and teaches her things, leading Selena, unaware that her new friend is black, to fall in love with him, much to the dismay and anger of her family.

Touching and poignant, this movie about blindness is well worth the time you’ll spend watching it.

Jennifer Eight (1992). Uma Thurman plays a blind character named Helena, and Andy Garcia plays cop John Berlin. Berlin believes that Helena is going to be the next victim'”number eight'”of a serial killer, and as he works to solve the murder, he falls in love with her, which complicates things.

This movie has its fair share of suspense and intrigue, as well as a twist or two, and isn’t a bad way to spend a couple hours.

Ice Castles (1978). Alexis Winston (played by Lynn-Holly Johnson) is an ice skater moving up the skating ranks, dreaming of being a champion, until an accident takes her vision. With the help of good friend Nick (played by Robby Benson), she is able to face her fear, her new circumstances, and dare to dream again.

Sappy and maybe even a little cheesy, this is a good movie about blindness if you don’t mind a good cry and a happy ending. (This movie was remade in 2010.)

The Miracle Worker (1962). Based on the life of Helen Keller, who lost her sight as well as her hearing at a young age, this movie focuses on teacher Anne Sullivan’s attempts to teach Helen, who was wild and seemed totally unreachable.

Patty Duke won an Academy Award for her portrayal of Helen. Even though everyone knows the outcome of this story, it’s still frustrating and touching watching the process, and thrilling at the outcome.

These are by no means all the movies about blindness or that feature a blind character. Others include At First Sight, Wait Until Dark, Butterflies Are Free, and If You Could See what I Hear.

Sources:

IMDB

Blink

A Patch of Blue

Jennifer Eight

Ice Castles

The Miracle Worker

Reference:

• www.associatedcontent.com/article/8218481/five_inspiring_movies_about_unemployment.ht