Notes on Blindness
Notes on Blindness

Notes on Blindness

2016Movie90 minEnglish

After losing sight in 1983, John Hull began keeping an audio diary, a unique testimony of loss, rebirth and renewal, excavating the interior world of blindness. 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.

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Insights

IMDb7.5/10
Rotten Tomatoes98%
Metacritic85/100
Google Users91%
Director: James Spinney, Peter MiddletonGenres: Documentary, Biography

Plot Summary

This immersive documentary chronicles the life of writer John Hull as he gradually loses his sight and creates his own internal world to navigate his changing reality. Through his audio diaries and intimate conversations with his wife Ann, the film explores themes of perception, memory, and the profound human capacity for adaptation.

Critical Reception

Notes on Blindness was met with widespread critical acclaim, praised for its innovative use of sound design and its deeply personal and philosophical exploration of blindness. Critics lauded its poetic and moving portrayal of John Hull's journey, highlighting its emotional resonance and intellectual depth.

What Reviewers Say

  • A profoundly moving and sonically inventive exploration of losing sight and finding a new way of perceiving the world.
  • Hailed for its poetic narration and intimate portrayal of a man adapting to blindness.
  • Praised as a unique and deeply personal documentary that challenges conventional notions of sight and experience.

Google audience: Google users largely praise the film for its unique perspective on blindness, its emotional depth, and its innovative use of audio. Many found it a thought-provoking and inspiring experience, appreciating the intimate access to John Hull's inner world.

Awards & Accolades

Nominated for Best Documentary at the British Independent Film Awards, and won the Sundance Special Jury Award for Cinematography.

Fun Fact

The film was primarily constructed using audio recordings made by John Hull himself on a reel-to-reel tape recorder, which became a crucial tool in his process of documenting his experience of blindness.

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