Blind Spot (Blindsone)
(Norway, 98 min.)
Written and directed by Tuva Novotny
Starring: Pia Tjelta, Nora Mathea Øien, Oddgeir Thune, Anders
Baasmo Christiansen
Programme: Discovery (International Premiere)
The power of the long take finds one of its best examples in
Blind Spot. This outstanding
Norwegian drama from actor-turned-director Tuva Novotny gives Birdman and Victoria a run for their money as the one-take wonder. A single
98-minute unbroken shot provides one of the most emotionally absorbing case
studies in family dynamics and mental illness one could see at the festival
this year. (TIFF’s programme guide incorrectly notes that Blind Spot is a series of long takes. The film doesn’t even credit
an editor.) Even more impressive is the fact that Blind Spot marks Novotny’s first feature as a director, so the
sheer difficulty of orchestrating all this camerawork and human drama into one
perfect shot only makes the coup more noteworthy. Blind Spot is an outstanding technical and artistic achievement
The camera follows the girls out through the school, into
the yard, and onto the road home. It lingers on them, letting audiences occupy
their headspace as they discuss the bullying and teasing that transpired only
moments before. Then the camera revolves around the girls, reframing its
perspective on them and shifting the dramatic emphasis from one girl to
another. This move is pivotal to Blind
Spot since Novotny manages to disorient the viewer and reframe the film
experience through new perspectives with one ingenious swoop of the camera.
At this point, it seems that Tea is our protagonist, yet the
young girl only owns the frame for a few minutes when she arrives home. She
brushes her teeth and readies for bed. Then, in an utterly suspenseful dramatic
coup that puts a viewer on the edge of their seat for the next eighty minutes,
the camera watches Tea walk outside the frame. A window opens, but we don’t see
it. We only see the space of the family home and the reaction of Tea’s mother,
Maria (Pia Tjelta), when she finds the room empty. The blind spot becomes a
recurring metaphor in the film as Novotny reveals the elements of mental
illness that ripple throughout the family and pass undetected day by day.
Blind Spot lets
audience experience both life and death as we watch several lives upended and
changed forever. Every minute counts as Maria grapples with the tragedy before
her. The camera frantically runs down a dozen flights of stairs with Maria as
she races to find her daughter on the ground below. One’s pulse hammers in adrenaline-pumping
awe as the mother frantically does everything she can to save her daughter’s
life. The tragedy plays out in real time as Blind
Spot makes audiences wait with Maria for an ambulance to arrive and then
follow it to the hospital. Every second of it is nerve-wracking hell.
Novotny’s film is astonishingly well executed from first
frame to last. The duration of the shot amplifies the intensity of the drama
because Novotny never gives the audience a moment to breathe. We’re invested in
these characters from the moment we meet them, and the full-throttle conviction
of the ensemble ensures that every performance is rife with real, tangible,
human emotions.
Tjelta is exceptionally good. Her performance knocks the
wind out of Maria. It’s an intense commitment both physically and emotionally
that never overplays its hand. Blind Spot
is almost emotionally exhausting as one watches Maria pass through stages
of fear, anxiety, grief, blame, and, ultimately, acceptance. Novotny puts lots
of faith in her characters and they carry the film remarkably as Blind Spot straddles film and theatre by
asking the performers to deliver the emotional intimacy required of the camera
with the stamina demanded by the stage. The choreography of the one-take
sequences is, again, an audaciously difficult gamble with a brilliant payoff.
If anyone wants a true discovery at this year’s festival, Blind Spot is it.
Blind Spot screens:
-Mon, Sept. 10 at Cineplex Scotiabank at 6:45 PM
-Wed, Sept. 12 at Jackman Hall at 9:00 AM
-Sun. Sept. 16 Cineplex Scotiabank at 3:45 PM