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It's not always easy to pinpoint your exact feelings about a film. Granted, you tend to have somewhat of a gut reaction as to whether or not you loved or hated what you have just spent the last two hours watching. However sometimes that response takes a while to manifest and when sex, violence and brutality are thrown in the mix, it makes the resulting decision that little bit harder. This is most definitely the case with Blindness as the haunting and often disturbing film is one you won't too easily forget.

The film tells the story of an unknown city whose residents, one by one, begin to go blind. As the number of people struck down by the 'white disease' increases the government decide to group all of the suffers together in a hospital style compound, except there is no one on hand to help and the blind inmates must fend for themselves. Their initial leader is The Doctor (Ruffalo) who is aided by The Doctors Wife (Moore) and is the only one inside the compound who still has her sight. They are soon joined by The Woman with the Dark Glasses (Braga) among others as they all begin to live and understand their new worlds as best they can. As more and more blind start to show up the dynamics begin to change as the recently established society comes under attack from the few among the group who want things their own way and The King of Ward Three (Bernal) is quick to usurps power, sliding the compound into a chilling and unforgettable state.

Meirelles has a reputation for skilfully creating highly visually worlds and Blindness is no exception. The film is very cleverly directed and gives a realistic insight into the breakdown of a society and ones need for survival. In particular, he uses a combination of sporadic reflections and white lights to effectively signify the characters blindness, which allows you to identify with the onset and consequences of spontaneously going blind. The film however, doesn't always make for easy viewing and the rape scene is an austere and harrowing portrayal that warrants the films 18 certificate. Yet this is further testament to the skill of the direction as Meirelles films the scene with no nudity and a combination of blackouts, leaving your imagination to fill in what your eyes have not seen.

The faultless direction is upheld by a strong ensemble cast, in particular Ruffalo in his noble and compassionate depiction of The Doctor and Moore as the strong yet burdened Doctors Wife. The multi-cultural characters also have no back story in an attempt to unify their plight with the audience.

Blindness is a powerful and unsettling film which will take days to leave your mind and while the film is not to everyone's taste, it is an engaging and intriguing look at the break down and subsequent re-building of a society. As a director, Meirelles is nothing short of a genius and with this film the Academy-Award nominee further establishes himself as a visual genius.