The Blind Man Who Did Not Want to See Titanic

Directed by Teemu Nikki

Running time: 1hr22 | REVIEWED BY CATHERINE BRAY

Starring Petri Poikolainen

A tense, testing film full of humour and humanity, The Blind Man Who Did Not Want To See Titanic is a film I’d been desperate to see ever since clocking that it was the work of Finnish director Teemu Nikki, whose short All Inclusive was one of the strongest in Competition at Cannes in 2019.  

The Blind Man tells the story of Jaakko, a movie nerd with a dry sense of humour, a particular fondness for John Carpenter, and a medical prescription for cannabis. This prescription is due to his MS, a degenerative disease that can manifest in a number of ways, in his case preventing him from seeing and necessitating that he use a wheelchair to get about. 

The film is set mostly during the one day that he decides he and his girlfriend Sirpa should finally meet in person. Jaakko is played by Petri Poikolainen, who gives a resourceful, smart, well-rounded performance, dipping into reserves of vulnerability and desperation during the film’s scariest scenes, during which the limitations of his “fuck you” persona are tested. No doubt drawing partially on the actor’s own experience of MS (he is also a wheelchair user, and has also lost his sight), Poikolainen’s fine performance turns on a dime at times to tease the darkest of laughs out of the most unlikely moments. 

The cinematography is unusual — while it doesn’t seek to mirror Jaakko’s experience of the world, our field of vision is restricted, focusing mainly on Jaakko’s face, with other people and objects blurred and indistinct. This forced restriction aligns us with his journey in an almost uncomfortably claustrophobic way, presenting a huge challenge for the actor, to which Poikolainen rises admirably. As the film is just 82 minutes long, this approach doesn’t outstay its welcome; the effect is instead one of ferocious, confrontational empathy. I can’t wait for an appalling Hollywood remake that misses the point in every way. 

THE BLIND MAN WHO DID NOT WANT TO SEE TITANIC (SOKEA MIES, JOKA EI HALUNNUT NÄHDÄ TITANICIA (2021) Written by Teemu Nikki | Shot by Sari Aaltonen | Edited by Jussi Sandhu

Selected for Orrizonti Extra at the 78th Venice Film Festival