Land of the Blind (2006)

There's no shortage of trenchant political satire in this film starring Ralph Fiennes and Donald Sutherland, written and directed by Robert Edwards. The story is set in an alternate reality amalgam of Great Britain and the U.S.A., where film and TV celebrities run the government and Max (Tom Hollander), the leader of the "free" world, is a sado-masochistic freak who spends the nation's money on gaudy action movies. Outside the palace walls, the nation is being overrun by violent rebels while their idealistic leader, Thorne (Sutherland), resides in jail, quoting William Butler Yeats and being regularly tortured. F...
Read more

iennes plays Joe, a sympathetic prison guard who gradually adopts Thorne's views and joins a plot to assassinate Max. But then when the revolution succeeds, Joe finds a whole new nightmare awaiting him.

Edwards plunders the history books for this jet black allegory, with references everything from Mussolini's Italy, Stalin's Russia, and Cambodia's Khymer Rouge all the way up to President Bush, and North Korea's Kim Jong III. In its cockeyed way the film resembles a more violent and disturbing version of the Marx Brothers' DUCK SOUP crossed with Terry Gilliam's BRAZIL. There are costumes from all different historical periods, hyper-gaudy architecture, semiotic brainwashing reminiscent of Orwell's 1984 and some extraneous bathroom humor. Tom Hollander steals most of his scenes as the Caligula-esque Max; Lara Flynn Boyle is also in fine scenery chewing form as his Imelda Marcos meets Evita Peron-style wife.
Read less..

Set jinni.com as default synopis Visit jinni.com

The debut film by director Robert Edwards, Land of the Blind, is a political satire starring Ralph Fiennes as a military man who helps overthrow his government. He does so at the urging of a political prisoner, played by Donald Sutherland, who has been outspoken about the corruption of the current regime. The soldier learns that corruption may in fact be an inevitable part of having power. Set in an unnamed country without ever giving indication of a specific time period, the allegorical film had its North American debut at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival.

Set AllMovie.com as default synopis Visit AM

Film vertelt het verhaal van gevangenisbewaker Joe, die terugkomt op zijn standpunt omtrent een militair politieke kwestie. Die kwestie leidde er toe dat de regering van dit land werd afgezet. Joe bewaakt die bekende gevangenis die een beroemde politieke gevangene huisvest. De gevangene, met de naam Thorne (Sutherland), leidt de groep in kwestie, die tegen oorlogsvoering en terrorisme van de overheid is.

Set MovieMeter.nl as default synopis Visit MM