MONTREAL, CANADA
Kevin Quint’s new film “Blindfold” is being greeted with mixed reviews from both critics and the kink community. The 96 minute feature is composed of a largely blank screen with occasional, brief glimpses at the very top and bottom, of what appears to be a dungeon environment.
There is a sense of motion as the camera attempts to pan left and right, while revealing little other than very subtle changes in lighting.
“We wanted to give someone the experience of wearing a blindfold without actually wearing one. The thrill of being sightless without the consequences,” said Quint.
Critics generally applauded the effort, seeing it as an homage to Andy Warhol’s 8 hour film Empire or his early 5 hour film Sleep.
“It is not nearly as unwatchable as Warhol,” said Richard Smegel, critic for the Toronto Star. “I think I would just rather wear the blindfold and skip the movie.”
Fans of the film have taken to doing exactly that, bringing blindfolds and wearing them while “watching” the film.
David Crist, 24, an art student at a local college says the experience is “very meta. It is like you can’t see, but you know what you are not seeing is someone not seeing things. It is a kind of double negation of the gaze. In doing so you are both taking an action which is revolutionary and acknowledging you are complicit in the system of abjection that we all face in a capitalist society.”
Quint is less philosophical. “I’ve always had a fetish for blindfolds. That’s it. It’s just a fetish.”
Attendance at screenings has been low, but Quint hopes the festival screening will give it a boost.
Photo credit: Alison cc: by nc sa
