L'aveugle qui ne voulait pas voir le Titanic

Stumbling upon the 2021 Finnish movie "Sokea Mies Joka Ei Halunnut Nähdä Titanicia" (aka "The Blind Man Who Did Not Want to See Titanic"), of course I opted to watch it, as I had never seen nor heard about the movie before. But I have to say that the movie's synopsis definitely won me over.

Writer and director Teemu Nikki actually put together a storyline that had something very special to offer. Now, before I delve deeper into this, I have to say that this movie is somewhat of an acquired taste, and it is unlikely to find an appeal with the ordinary movie viewer. But if you enjoy movies that transcends the usual formula and goes beyond meager entertainment, then perhaps you should give this movie a chance.

The storyline was rather interesting, and it was also a nicely written storyline. Teemu Nikki really managed to capture something rather unique and special here. And it was a combination of that rather unusual and unique storyline and narrative mixed with a phenomenal performance by leading actor Petri Poikolainen that really made this an outstanding and enjoyable movie.

I have not even watched half a dozen of Finnish movies, so I wasn't familiar with the cast ensemble in the movie. But since the movie mostly just focused on Petri Poikolainen, there was a lot of weight on his shoulders for delivering and carrying the movie. And boy, did he do just that! His performance was so realistic, personal and spot on.

I genuinely enjoyed watching "Sokea Mies Joka Ei Halunnut Nähdä Titanicia", but it is hardly a movie that warrants more than just a single viewing, as the script just doesn't have the contents to support multiple viewings. But this is definitely a movie that I will recommend you to watch, especially if you enjoy offbeat movies.

My rating of "Sokea Mies Joka Ei Halunnut Nähdä Titanicia" lands on a seven out of ten stars.

They're certainly out there, but there are relatively few movies in the world that center disabled individuals as protagonists, let alone movies that aim to provide some measure of perspective on a given condition. It's not for me to judge how fully successful filmmaker Teemu Nikki was in this capacity, or how delicate and mindful, but the effort is absolutely to be commended nonetheless, and to the same end it's well worth observing that star Petri Poikolainen is himself afflicted with the same conditions as protagonist Jaakko. In both his writing and direction Nikki strives to zero in on the experience of a man who is blind and relies on a wheelchair as a mobility aid, and the small details that are woven into the picture in various ways are very gratifying. The camera is tightly focused on Jaakko at all times, speaking to the smallness and isolation of his world, yet even at that Sari Aaltonen's cinematography is unexpectedly smart, thoughtful, and even dynamic - and in turn, deeply immersive. Carefully plotted audio clues us in to what Jaakko overhears other people saying about him, and speaks to the screen readers and audio devices upon which the visually impaired rely; minutiae in the scene writing further elucidates both how the protagonist gets by, and how rich his life is even with severe and increasing limitations. Most every fundamental choice in 'The blind man who did not want to see Titanic' is geared toward fostering, as much as an audiovisual medium can, understanding of Jaakko, and in turn the disabled in real life, and in Nikki's sagacity that even includes limiting what we as an audience can perceive in the film.

Going further still with the same guiding ethos, the narrative is more or less split into two parts, one a romantic comedy-drama, and the other a drama-thriller. There is welcome wry wit in the former portion, earning some definite laughs, while the latter offers meaningful tension and suspense, and all the while the telling is wonderfully earnest as Nikki looks at not just how Jaakko lives daily, but also how he navigates difficult, exigent circumstances. It is a bit of a tonal shift, certainly, yet the feature is so strongly centered that it feels natural, avoiding the pitfall that other filmmakers have fallen into of turning hard from one mood to another. Through it all Poikolainen gives a tremendous performance, bringing his very personal, very realistic character to vibrant emotional life. The scene writing is rich and potent, characters are carefully considered, and even the dialogue is very real and believable, and marked with swell personality. While the music takes a backseat here it adds fantastic flavor where it does come into play, and everything from the editing to sound direction is superb. In every way the title is splendidly well made - and the fact that it's so sharply written and directed, with such an admirable core, is marvelously refreshing. I assumed I would enjoy this, yet I'm completely taken with just how excellent it is from top to bottom, and I find myself surprised that it hasn't gotten more attention, and that was kind of only by chance that I came across it. 'The blind man who did not want to see Titanic' deserves much more recognition as far as I'm concerned, for every reason, and in mind it's well worth seeking out.

Now I need to write about what I just watched right? Here we have a movie made from the heart. Made me laugh, made me mad, scared and cry.

What else do you need from a movie?

Besides the strong message about the disabled people, there's also a high value in the director's view of the movie. It's a league of its own as someone else wrote here.

I put it next to CODA which was a movie that made me cry like a little baby. We have to appreciate what we have,our senses.

Extra kudos to the fact that it's made by Finnish people, which always gives you something more,strange and bizarre in everything they do.

Kiitos guys.

Breath taking Journey with A man Who have become blind and has To Be In wheelchair due ms diseace. Man decided To go see woman Who he havent never seen across The Finland by taxi and train. Even through movie gives A bit wrong i. Age of Finnish People this movie is Pure gold. Lead actor is blind and uses wheelchair i real life and this. Ight Be tge only role he is going To do. Because The decease leads eventually To death. Last time i felt being In love on cinema art was first time i saw Amelie.

Sokea Mies Joka Ei Halunnut Nähdä Titanicia (or The Blind Man Who Did Not Want To See Titanic for the English title) is a Finnish drama/romance, but not a comedy nor thriller like it's also categorized. There's a long scene where some thugs lack of compassion but other than that there's no thrilling here. Not a bad movie though if you like drama/romances. Petri Poikolainen plays a blind man in a wheelchair because of MS and he was convincing, which shouldn't be a problem to play as he really suffers from that condition. But he was very convincing in his acting, you feel really sorry for him, which is most likely the point of this movie, and you feel happy for him when things turn out good for once. The cinematography could have been better in my opinion. Sometimes it looked shot with cheap material, out of focus scenes that shouldn't have to be. Maybe on purpose at times but sometimes simple and normal is just better.