The National Federation for The Blind takes offense at the portrayal of blind people in the upcoming thriller Blindness, starring Julianne Moore and Marc Ruffalo. Blindness portrays a breakdown in society after a virus starts wiping out everyone’s vision, turning them into savages who compete for meager resources. Blind people think it’s outrageous that they’re portrayed so negatively and plan a protest of the film, which is out in limited release in the US this Friday, October 3.

Blind people quarantined in a mental asylum, attacking each other, soiling themselves, trading sex for food. For Marc Maurer, who’s blind, such a scenario _ as shown in the movie “Blindness” _ is not a clever allegory for a breakdown in society.

Instead, it’s an offensive and chilling depiction that Maurer fears could undermine efforts to integrate blind people into the mainstream.

“The movie portrays blind people as monsters, and I believe it to be a lie,” said Maurer, president of the Baltimore-based National Federation of the Blind. “Blindness doesn’t turn decent people into monsters.”

The organization plans to protest the movie, released by Miramax Films, at 75 theaters around the country when it’s released Friday. Blind people and their allies will hand out fliers and carry signs. Among the slogans: “I’m not an actor. But I play a blind person in real life.”

The movie reinforces inaccurate stereotypes, including that the blind cannot care for themselves and are perpetually disoriented, according to the NFB.

“We face a 70 percent unemployment rate and other social problems because people don’t think we can do anything, and this movie is not going to help _ at all,” said Christopher Danielsen, a spokesman for the organization.

[AP via Huffington Post]

Seven staff members of the National Federation for The Blind, including three people who are not blind, attended a screening of the film last week. They’re not simply responding to the trailers and have a legitimate beef with the film.

The film was not received well at Cannes, with the jury giving it a 1.3 average out of 4. Blindness has a 41% aggregate critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes and it seems like people either love it or hate it. It’s criticized as being too self-important and negative in tone. The film also features Danny Glover and Gael Garcia Bernal.

Here are two trailers.

Thanks to AllMoviePhoto for these pictures.

The stars were out for the opening festival at the Cannes film festival, and they sure were gorgeous. The first film to open the 12 day film festival on the Riveria is Blindness. The film by Brazilian director Fernando Meirelles is based on a 1955 novel in which an entire city goes blind after an epidemic. Julianne Moore plays one of the few people who is unaffected and retains her sight. She tries to hide it from the rest of the city as society breaks down from the effects of the change. Blindness also stars Mark Ruffalo, Danny Glover, and Gael García Bernal.

The 9 person jury at Cannes includes Natalie Portman and is headed by Sean Penn. Penn didn’t miss a chance to rip on US President George Bush while talking to the press at the event. It’s likely that he was asked directly about it, and he is quoted by Reuters as saying “When somebody operates without a brain and without a heart, they kill hundreds of thousands of people around the world.” I dislike Bush as much as the next person, but there are much better ways of phrasing that. It’s lame to personally attack someone in such a blunt way when you can state more compelling reasons for disliking the guy. Bush definitely has a heart and a brain, he just choses when to use them. When it involves money, they’re easily switched off and immune to suffering, death and general havok-wrecking. Reuters notes that Penn then smoked a cigarette “in defiance of French anti-smoking laws.” You would think he would be afraid of setting that ridiculous hair on fire.

Shown at the opening ceremony at Cannes are Cate Blanchett, Natalie Portman, Eva Longoria (who’s still looking pregnant to me), Rachida Brakni, Aishwarya Rai, Gillian Anderson, Sean Penn (the hair!), Julianne Moore, Gael García Bernal, Mischa Barton, Danny Glover, and Bar Rafaeli.

“Babel,” directed by “21 Grams” director, Alejandro Gonzalez, stars Cate Blanchett, Brad Pitt, and Gael Garcia Bernal and is a multi-layered film about miscommunication in the modern world. It is in the running for the Palme d’Or, the grand prize at the Cannes Film Festival. It is said to be in competition with Sofia Coppola’s film starring Kirsten Dunst, “Marie Antoinette,” and Pedro Almodovar’s “Volver,” starring Penelope Cruz. Pitt could not make it to Cannes due to the impending birth of his first child, but sent his regards.

“Babel” sounds like a rich, thoughtful film and with talent like Blanchett, Pitt and Bernal it’s not surprising that it’s a hit with the critics.

Here is Cate Blanchett with cutie Gael Garcia Bernal at the photocall for “Babel” in Cannes today. Her dress is a bit wild, but I really think it’s lovely and suits her.