Hysterical Blindness

Colour, 35 mm
USA, 2002, 98 min
Section: Horizons
Oficiální stránky: www.hboenterprises.com

Synopsis

Debby and Beth are friends who have a lot in common, so they’ve always got something to talk about when they meet at a local bar every Friday. They’re both around thirty and have to work to support themselves, and both seek relationships with reliable and permanent partners. On top of that, Beth has a ten-year-old daughter to look after, and Debby has to think of her mother, who lives with her in a modest house. In the end, however, it’s the mother who, after years of being alone, finds someone while Beth and Debby are still left hoping.... The film’s strength lies in its sensitive and detailed portrayal of the heroines’ everyday lives, and in screenwriter Laura Cahill’s wonderful evocation of the small-town atmosphere of her native New Jersey, at once charming and oppressive.

About the director

Mira Nair (B. 1957, Bhubaneshwar, India) studied sociology in New Delhi and at Harvard. She has shot the documentaries So Far from India (1982), India Cabaret (1985) and Children of a Desired Sex (1987), and her feature debut Salaam Bombay! (1988), put into distribution around the world, was awarded the Camera d’Or and the Audience Prize at Cannes. Mississippi Masala (1991) followed, a race drama taking up the topic of ethnic integration and various social classes; it was screened in competition at Venice. Other films: The Perez Family (1995), Kama Sutra, A Tale of Love (1996), My Own Country (1988, TV), The Laughing Club of India (1999, doc.) Monsoon Wedding (2001) - screened at the Karlovy Vary IFF, 2002. Her latest film, Hysterical Blindness (2002), starring Uma Thurman and Gena Rowlands.