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Blind Light

2002, Movie, NR, 60 mins

Blind Light: Review

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Pretentious but engrossing, documentarian Pola Rapaport attempts to chronicle the difficulties inherent in making a non-fiction film when the filmmaker's personal issues threaten to overwhelm the material. Rapaport spent years toying with the idea of making a film that would celebrate the life of renowned Swedish physician Axel Munthe (1857-1949). Despite failing eyesight, Munthe became a brilliant travel writer during his twilight years; during a disappointing European trip, and Rapaport's conservative mother introduced her to Munthe and his infatuation with the isle of Capri. Rapaport responds intensely to Munthe's writing, especially his The Story of San Michele, because he embodies a feeling of intense aliveness she's been trying to recapture since her adolescence. The vivid sensuality of Italian life drew Munthe back to the country, even though he knew its sun would hasten the deterioration of sight. Rapaport goes back and forth between making a linear documentary and a fictional film about Munthe, and while leaning in the direction of fiction shoots some footage revolving around a character named Diana (Edie Falco), a fashion photographer setting up a swimsuit shoot in Capri. As Rapaport delves into Munthe's philosophy, Diana — who's serving as Rapaport's fictitious alter ego — changes accordingly. Rapaport also takes a trip to Stockholm, Munthe's Swedish home, to steep herself in the formative influences of his early years. As Rapaport's ruminations and Diana's dissatisfactions reflect each other, the film reaches its climax with Munthe's melancholy epiphany that "perhaps the greatest suffering in life isn't to revisit past happiness." Literally blinded by the light, Munthe has no regrets about his time in Capri, and his courage emboldens both Rapaport and Diana. Part biographical ode to an obscure literary figure and part interior monologue about the process of filmmaking, this complex feature is alternately irritating and fascinating. Ultimately, writer-director Rapaport allows her own soul-searching to overshadow her examination of the man who inspired her. leave a comment --Robert Pardi
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