Notes on Blindness
Directed by Peter Middleton, James Spinney
Bond360
After losing sight, John Hull knew that if he did not try to understand blindness it would destroy him. In 1983 he began keeping an audio diary. Over three years John recorded over sixteen hours of material, a unique testimony of loss, rebirth and renewal, excavating the interior world of blindness. Published in 1990, the diaries were described by author and neurologist Oliver Sacks as, 'A masterpiece… The most precise, deep and beautiful account of blindness I have ever read.'Following on from the Emmy Award-winning short film of the same name, Notes on Blindness is an ambitious and groundbreaking work, both affecting and innovative – and one of the most essential British documentaries of the year.
John Hull
"CRITIC'S PICK. Magnificent. The tone of the narration is so wrenchingly honest that the film never lapses into self-pity or relies on mystical platitudes."
Stephen Holden, The New York Times
"★★★★★ The genius of the film is in allowing us to understand and visualise the world of blindness… A beautiful, accessible and thoughtful work of art."
Charlie Phillips, The Guardian
"Achingly poignant and startlingly immediate."
Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times
"A deeply sensitive interpretation of the subject's reflective testament on disability."
John DeFore, The Hollywood Reporter
"The filmmakers create art out of what too often is a documentary stopgap."
Alan Scherstuhl, The Village Voice
"Notes on Blindness is a moving, intimate documentary, a triumph of sound and image, and a poetic examination of love, loss, memory and marriage."
Niall McArdle, Film Ireland Magazine
"This daring re-enactment of one man's going blind is not only successful, but deeply moving and enlightening."
David Noh, Film Journal International
"A genuinely moving, profound and haunting experience that might change the way you perceive the sights and sounds around you."
Avi Offer, NYC Movie Guru
"Befitting Hull's original project, Notes on Blindness is achingly, poignantly human."
Tara Brady, Irish Times
"Notes on Blindness is an extraordinary film that wears its original genius lightly."
Tom Birchenough, The Arts Desk
"As educational, entertaining and inspirational as its subject."
Mark Kermode, The Observer (UK)
"A haunting, quietly affecting documentary."
Edward Lawrenson, The Big Issue
"A deeply moving and unexpectedly uplifting film."
Allan Hunter, The List
"[An] elegant, evocative and deeply affecting documentary."
Wendy Ide, Screen International
British Independent Film Awards
Winner Special Jury Award
San Francisco Int'l. Film Festival
Storytelling & Innovation Award
Sheffield Int'l. Documentary Festival
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