Merrick here...
Last year, Missuswyrm...Massawyrm's wife...sent in aomse review from Fantasic Frest 2010.
She's back for FF 2011, this time with a lookl at BLIND...
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BLIND
Korean thriller directed by Ahn Sang-hoon and featuring Kim Ha-neulYoo and Seung-ho
Directed by Ahn Sang-hoon, BLIND thrills right from the start. Trying to keep her beloved younger brother out of trouble, Min Soo-ah (endearingly played by Ha-Neul Kim) takes some liberties with her position as a police officer in training, forcing him from a dance club and cuffing him to the interior of her van. Unfortunately, her best intentions lead to tragedy when they are in a horrific crash and her brother, unable to escape the vehicle, dies in the wreck.
A few years later, Min Soo-ah is struggling to quell her guilt about the accident that took both her brother and her vision, while fiercely working to reclaim her independence and her dream of becoming a police officer. Her investigative skills are put to the test when she unwittingly escapes becoming the next victim of a vicious serial killer who has been abducting local girls. Though it could have easily played out as a typical abduction-escape movie, BLIND takes a fresh approach by having our protagonist slip past her kidnapper and begin working with the police to apprehend him. What unfolds is an engaging story of pursuit in which the intended mouse becomes the cat, until the killer gains the upper hand and Min Soo-ah finds that sheís gotten into more than she bargained for.
While BLIND is undeniably a thriller, delivering a nice build to a satisfyingly tense climax, it is also an interesting look at a womanís inner struggle to find redemption and make peace with her past. Ha-Neul Kim portrays our protagonist with a quiet strength and determination. Through it all, we see that Min Soo-ah is, in fact, quite a badass. No, she doesnít wield flaming swords or navigate solely by her sense of smell, nor is she without typical human weaknesses and self-doubt. Still, Min Soo-ah is intelligent, brave, determined, and quick-witted. She is, in other words, just the sort of badass that we all can - and should - strive to be.
Ahn Sang-hoon doesnít fail to entertain with a gripping story populated with engaging characters, but also delivers a welcome message of empowerment, without coming across overly preachy or pretentious. One never gets the sense that our protagonist is strong for a woman or in spite of her visual impairment, but just that she is a strong person, doing her best in some extreme situations. One could say that BLIND is an empowerment film that doesnít feel like itís trying too hard to be which, in my mind, makes for an even stronger message.
