Mrs. Hong is blind and too proud to admit it has slowed her down. Her son and his wife can’t really look at one another. They too are blind although their eyes work fine.

It must be hard for Daniel Wong (Han Chin) to watch his mother feel her way through his spacious home. You see, Daniel is an eye doctor and obviously he can do nothing for his mother’s loss of sight. His wife Natalie (Vivian Wu) is so despondent and unhappy that all she does is slink about the somewhat lavish house and pool in a silk robe and bikini bathing suit sipping martinis and savoring perfectly skewered olives. Natalie cannot have children and Mrs. Wong hates her for it. Or is there something else that has caused such a divide between them?

Into “Blindness” an atmospheric almost one act melodramatic thriller from director Anna Chi is thrown a fourth troubled soul Patrick (Joe Lando). Patrick has just escaped from many years in prison for the murder of his parents, crimes he claims he did not commit. He has come to Daniel’s home for answers and does not care whether he is caught so long as he confronts the man or men whom he thinks really murdered his parents. Upon his arrival, he runs into Natalie his old love.

“Blindness” is direct and simple depending on strong characterizations to carry an otherwise thin story. Much of its emotional power is derived from an excellent performance by Lisa Lu as Mrs. Hong with eyes always wide open seeing nothing but comprehending much. Lu has had a long career in American cinema appearing on television on such popular shows as the late 1950’s “Have Gun Will Travel” as Hey Girl beside Richard Boone’s Paladin. Here she shows that she can be a powerful dramatic presence capturing the character of Mrs. Hong flawlessly as a woman on the brink of giving up but hiding behind her pride and heritage. The reason the film works is because Lu is so very committed to her character that you feel deeply sorry for her even though she may actually be some kind of monster.

The rest of the cast is not without interest. The exotically beautiful Vivian Wu (who was reportedly named one of People magazine’s 50 most beautiful people in 1990) seductively moves through each scene with much sexual energy. When she is taken hostage, she appears to be happy that something eventful has happened in her life to break the depressing monotony. Of course, it helps that her assailant is Patrick and it has been so long since she has seen him, so long since she felt his touch.

Joe Lando is fine as the round eye intruder with a past that includes murder and a love triangle. His entire character is forced a bit in that the reaction of Natalie and even Mrs. Wong is odd and maybe contrived. I doubt that their response to a gun being aimed in their direction by a convicted murderer and prison escapee would be as dignified and restrained as it is depicted here but these people have major issues and suicidal tendencies are certainly possible.

The fourth actor Han Chin has the thankless task of playing the least believable of the characters. Chin’s Daniel must deliver the film’s concluding twist which is not very convincing and merely serves to bring this interesting almost real-time character study to a close. In one scene, confronted with an armed intruder, he actually takes the time to put away some Ben and Jerry’s ice cream. I don’t think that melting ice cream would have any importance in such a situation. But on the whole, he meld’s well as Lu’s troubled son.

“Blindness” has another star—the home in which most of the action takes place. It is a dwelling that impressively combines both Oriental and modern design complete with a fully stocked bar, sunken living room, and large pool concealed behind the home providing privacy for midnight dips wearing nothing but one’s birthday suit. The home provides a great staging ground for the action allowing lighting to reflect from the pool’s surface or from candles onto the tortured face of Lu’s Mrs. Wong and the permanent scowl of Wu’s Natalie. This home probably is real given the fact that the production is on a smaller budget and it speaks volumes for the importance of a good set especially when all of the action transpires there.

The screenplay for “Blindness” is restrained and mature. We know that there is the possibility that things will end in bloodshed but the film creatively avoids that occurrence focusing instead on who the people really are underneath and how words and feelings can leave worse wounds than those inflicted by a weapon that result in instant death. These people are walking through life broken and blind to solutions that may be there for the taking. Instead of a hail of bullets, we get discussion and emotion which is more than I can say for many films with many times its budget.

Mrs. Hong can’t see her eyes have stopped working. “Blindness” suggests, however, that the physical loss of sight is not as bad as losing one’s spirit.

Jonathan W. Hickman, 2003