Land of the Blind
Short description
Set in an imaginary country, this drama thriller follows the relationship between Joe, a soldier and prison guard, and Thorne, a prominent political prisoner. Thorne influences Joe to help him overthrow the authoritarian government. While the revolution succeeds, Joe soon discovers that Thorne's vision for the new order conflicts with his own beliefs. This tension leads to a confrontation between the former allies as those around them seek a permanent resolution to the conflict.
The film was written and directed by Robert Edwards. It stars Ralph Fiennes as Joe and Donald Sutherland as Thorne, with a supporting cast that includes Tom Hollander, Lara Flynn Boyle, Marc Warren, and Ron Cook. Produced by companies including Avnet/Kerner Productions and Brooklyn Films, the movie is a joint production between the United Kingdom and the United States.
Audience reception is mixed, with the film holding a 6.4 rating on IMDb based on 4,100 votes and a 5.8 rating on TMDB from 59 votes. These viewers rated the movie more favorably than film critics, who gave it a rating of 4.2 based on 18 reviews.
What's left behind the scenes
- The film's title is a reference to the expression "In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king."
- The scene of Thorne appearing on television is based on a real event. Jeremy Denton (1924-2014), captured during the Vietnam War, publicly stated during a televised press conference in 1966 that he was being treated well, while simultaneously blinking the word "torture" in Morse code with his eyes.
- The scene of the death of the character played by Donald Sutherland references the plot of Jacques-Louis David's painting 'The Death of Marat' (1793).
- Thorne tells Joe that his ancestors burned their ships upon arrival. This is a reference to Cortés (full name – Fernando Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro Altamirano, 1485-1547), the Spanish conquistador who conquered Mexico. Cortés burned the ships to show his men that they had no choice but to proceed.
- The character played by Donald Sutherland mentions that Maximilian II's father attempted to kill his unborn son after hearing a prophecy that he would one day destroy the empire. This plays on the ancient Greek legend stating that Paris would bring misfortune upon Troy, which he ultimately did.
- In the prison where Thorne ends up, there is a special cell where prisoners come face to face with their worst nightmare. This is a reference to George Orwell's (born Eric Arthur Blair, 1903-1950) dystopian novel '1984' (1949), which tells about life in a totalitarian world.
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