Blind Spot
(LA POUDRE AUX YEUX) ((FRENCH))
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Arnold ...Robin Renucci
Juliette ... Marilyne Canto
Shakespeare ... Marc Jolivert
Isabelle ... Emmanuell Lepoutre
Leonard ... Pierre-Loup Rajot
Eye Doctor ... Myriam Boyer
Robin Renucci is well cast and convincing as Arnold, an ace TV reporter who's eager to cover a revolutionary uprising in northern Sri Lanka. On the eve of his departure, however, he decides to check with a doctor about his recent headaches and eyestrain. The diagnosis is grim: The strain of the Sri Lanka assignment could cause the reporter to go blind.
Arnold doesn't want to risk his eyesight. On the other hand, he doesn't want to turn his assignment over to a despised rival. So he tells everyone he's leaving town, then holes up in his Paris apartment. There, he assembles footage left over from a previous overseas assignment and combines it with updated video material provided by Paris-based Sri Lankan militants. An edit here, a voiceover there, and presto -- Arnold has the material for a hard-hitting, first-person documentary.
Unfortunately, "Blind Spot" becomes tedious as soon as Arnold locks his front door and draws the curtains. Alone for weeks, he begins to crack under the pressure of his pretense and the loneliness -- which leads to many long, repetitious scenes depicting Arnold in various stages of emotional distress.
Story picks up considerably when Arnold "returns" to Paris and goes to his news agency's studio to complete his documentary. There's a clever latenight sequence in which Arnold, using high-tech trickery that recalls "Forrest Gump," manages to insert himself into a Sri Lankan street scene. The kicker is, his editor suggests that this difficult-to-fake shot should be discarded, for reasons of pacing.
A few more details about the fakery and a lot less emotional frenzy would have helped "Blind Spot" immeasurably. Dugowson, working from a novel by Maurice Achard, obviously wants to offer a cautionary tale about the ways that truth can be twisted in the electronic age. Pic scores some salient points at the very beginning, when Arnold, addressing college students, explains the not-so-hidden meanings of imagery employed by presidents Reagan and Clinton.
Dugowson could cut another five or 10 minutes. The supporting performances are everything they should be.
Camera (color), Jacques Guerin; editor, Marie-France Ghilbert; music, Jean-Claude Vannier; set design, Valerie Grall; costumes, Pascaline Suty; sound, Norbert Garcia; assistant director, Pablo Freville. Reviewed at Sarasota French Film Festival, Fla., Nov. 10, 1994. Running time: 95 MIN.
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