Film reviews
BUTTERFLY is a short film directed by Yulia Mahr for the Scottish Documentary Institute’s Bridging the Gap scheme.
It was nominated for a BAFTA Scotland in the Best Short Film category. The film tells the story of Gemma Sherry, a young Scottish woman, and the realities of her life with albinism and low vision.
Robin Spinks provided technical support to the film-maker.
If you would like to review Butterfly for publication on this website please send your review to .
‘Ray’
(’Brother Ray’ by Ray Charles & David Ritz)
The Mind’s Eye Interest Group’s main reason for these reviews was to find whether Ray Charles’ early loss of sight might have been caused, fully or partly, by the trauma of seeing his brother drown.
Neither the book nor the film make any suggestion of this. No firm medical cause was ever established, but glaucoma was considered most likely. One eye was removed following great pain which in my view could agree with a diagnosis of glaucoma.
If the trauma had any major psychological effects, a conventional analysis would probably look to his heroin addiction and obsessive womanising. However neither vice is unknown in the world of popular music, particularly when the majority of life is spent “on the road”.
Ray Charles’ blindness is treated just as one of a number of obstacles in the path of a young black man trying to succeed in that time and place. The film shows some people taking advantage of his blindness during his very early career but Charles makes little of this in his autobiography. Once he finds success, escorts and other support seem readily available.
I enjoyed the film more than the book. The former takes a more critical view of Charles’ behaviour and lifestyle and also contains excellent music. The book would probably be of more interest to fans of the man and his music.
Frank Luck
April 2008
‘What the bleep do we know?’
With an interest both in science and alternative health, I appreciate this film’s attempt to bridge the two. Some of the theory I don’t understand, some of the claims I find a little sensational. But most of it is genuinely entertaining and interesting. For example, it was through this film that I first heard of Masaro Emoto’s studies into the effect of thought on water: ‘If thoughts can do this to water, imagine what our thoughts can do to us’.
Physical vision is lightly touched on: ‘our eyes have the ability to see more than our brains can process’ and the example is given of native Americans being unable to see Columbus’ approaching ships because they were so unfamiliar. This reminded me of the concept that we don’t see what we don’t understand or don’t want to see.
An unusual combination of screenplay and documentary: on the one hand the fictional story of a photographer whose perception of reality is turned inside out by a handful of chance encounters over the course of a few days; on the other a discussion of science (particularly neuroscience and quantum physics) and spirituality featuring various ‘leading authorities’.
This film is in some ways reminiscent of ‘The Matrix’, or the book ‘Sophie’s World’. Ambitious and broad in scope, I found it thought- provoking but for practical solutions you would have to investigate further yourself: ‘Don’t take a fact at face value, test it to see if it is true… Measure the effects and become the scientist in your life’.
Undoubtedly the subject matter is controversial, like many discussions of psychosomatic conditions. What you make of this film depends on your perception. I recommend you watch it for yourself and make up your own mind. £5.98 via Amazon.
Links:
1. For a more comprehensive review (which I haven’t yet read myself), see Wikipedia entry:
What the Bleep Do We Know
2. And two short videos of interest. More recent, but on a similar theme:
The blind man who can see....
Click here to watch on YouTube
+ on synesthesia....
Click here to watch on YouTube
Alexandra Brenan
April 2008