Dealt

Greetings again from the darkness. One of the sub-genres of film documentaries involves profiling those folks who are doing extraordinary things in life. Sometimes these people are changing the world, sometimes they are sharing their talents, and other times they are overcoming challenges that most of us don't have. Richard Turner of San Antonio, Texas is one who checks all three boxes.

Mr. Turner is the world's best card mechanic … a magician, if you will – although he doesn't much like that word. Now you might be asking how a card trickster is changing the world, and it's a fair question. The answer becomes clear when we see him quietly bonding and sharing some card secrets with a young, similarly visually- impaired girl late in the film. That's correct, Mr. Turner is himself blind, and if you assume that a blind man cannot possibly execute highly complex and entertaining card tricks, you are encouraged to learn more about this remarkable man.

Mr. Turner is quick to recall what drew him to cards. He references the James Garner TV series "Maverick" as an inspiration, and soon decided that would make a pretty good way to earn a living. He has used his touch of hyper-activeness to relentlessly master his card skills, while also honing his stage presence. We hear others discuss his impact, and watch vintage clips of his TV appearances. "Blind" was a word he spurned for years, as he was driven to let his skills stand on their own against all others (skills that would be mind- blowing and world class even if he weren't blind). Turner's adamant refusal to admit his disability (no Braille, no cane, no dogs) was enabled by his dependence on his son, whose departure for college left a gaping hole in dad's life. We also meet Richard's sister Lori. She owns and runs her own construction company … and is also blind.

Director Luke Korem expertly provides the necessary background for us to understand how Turner has become the star he is. Rather than focus on the technical aspects of card "magic", he focuses on the man and his personal journey. It's fascinating how he delivers a personal profile of the family man – the flawed man – who has slowly, but surely come to accept his disability after a life of denial. So while we "ooh and ahh" and gape in amazement at his card skills, our hearts are touched by the relationships he has with his wife Kim, his son Asa (yes, Asa Spades Turner), and his self- reflective drive that allowed him to reach 5th degree black belt. Mr. Turner likely fine-tuned his card skills for nearly16 hours today … how was your day?

Dealt is a documentary about Richard Turner, a blind card magician. It's also about his family and his shows. Richard Turner is a very talented and dedicated man, who does not need sympathy or pity because he's blind. In fact, he likes to hide it. In this documentary you see Richard in his daily life. Although he's hiding the fact he's blind and does not use a cord or a dog to help him, he needs his son and wife all the time to point him the right way. Because he's so dedicated to whatever he does, he expects it also from others, like his son.

When I saw the documentary I got the feeling that everything is about Richard and everyone in his life is there to serve him. It's true that he committed a lot of time in becoming who he is now. Some things he achieved are astounding like the black belt in Karate. But he's not able to accept that other people's standards aren't as high as his. The scene where Richard and Asa (his son) work out in the fitness room says a lot. In the scene you see Richard and his wife commenting on Asa's fighting technique, it's like nothing is ever good enough.

I got the feeling Richard is a very self-centered man. It's sad he doesn't want to recognize his condition so other people have to help him all the time. His sister is also blind and is living a live where she can go where ever she want with a dog. But Richard doesn't want that, instead everybody has to pitch in to help him. Being on stage suits him very well as all the attention goes to him.

Maybe it's more the American way of life, to be always busy with yourself instead of others. It's true Richard is very successful and I respect all things he accomplished. But I wouldn't like being around him for too long. I think he's very lucky with the great people around him, otherwise he wouldn't be the man he is now.

When I watched this guy's wife said that he treated her like his guide dog, every time he needed her he whistled. She said she felt that she was being used by him as a guide dog whenever he needed her. I felt sad for her at that moment. And I didn't believe that later when they prayed together and decided to be together no matter what was what really changed her hurt feelings or just recovered from his heartless use of her. I think that she had pointed out the way he treated her was wrong and unacceptable, and she might have said if you keep doing this kind of thing treating me like a dog, I'll leave you. I think that's the real alarming message to make him realize how heartless he was and finally recognized she was not his guide dog but his lifelong partner and companion. I also noticed when she mentioned it, she still showed a hurt feeling.

The other thing made me wonder is if both him and his sister got the same peculiar blind disease at the same young age. It means that there's some weird genes from their parents. The documentary didn't tell us whether their parents and among their ancestors got this disease. I also noticed that their adult son looked quite healthy and normal, but I just couldn't worry about whether that sort of weird genes still existed and hidden, it might skip his son's generation and transfer to his offspring. Or that cursed gene would skip couple of generations and reappear in the future. This possibility is there, and I think all of them might have the same fear, but just buried it deep in their minds. What a weird disease.....Is there any recorded statistics telling us how many people suffered the same early blindness? Is it a racial biased disease only happened to certain races? Lot of questions...

This was a great documentary. What is emphasized throughout the whole film is that there's no sympathy needed for Richard Turner. He is brilliant at what he does and is severely disciplined in anything he focused his mind on. There are some struggles in being blind, but Richard doesn't let that affect his life. Truly inspiring and mind blowing that will leave you speechless. I recommend this to anyone who needs motivating or drive.

This is one of the best biopic documentaries I have seen & seeing a blind man performing world's best card game is even more intruguing.