Blindsight (2008)

98% of critics liked it
(49 reviews)
81% of users liked it
(828 ratings)

Erik Weihenmayer is an athlete and climbing enthusiast who, in the spring of 2001, scaled the summit of Mount Everest. This would be a notable accomplishment for anyone, but Weihenmayer was different from those who had reached Everest's peak before him -- he's been blind since the age of thirteen.… More Erik Weihenmayer is an athlete and climbing enthusiast who, in the spring of 2001, scaled the summit of Mount Everest. This would be a notable accomplishment for anyone, but Weihenmayer was different from those who had reached Everest's peak before him -- he's been blind since the age of thirteen. Weihenmayer's remarkable story came to the attention of Sabriye Tenberken, an educator who teaches blind teenagers in Lhasa, Tibet. In Tibetan culture, blindness is considered by many to be a curse, and it's not unknown for families to abandon children who are blind to the streets. Hoping to show others what her students could do, Tenberken invited Weihenmayer to Tibet to lead six teenagers on a climb of Lhakpa Ri, a peak on the northern face of Mount Everest. Weihenmayer eagerly accepted the invitation and in 2004 he joined Tenberken and her students on the adventure of a lifetime as six sightless novice climbers attempted to conquer one of the world's tallest and most challenging mountains. Documentary filmmaker Lucy Walker joined Weihenmayer for his adventure with the Tibetan students, and Blindsight is a record of what he and his charges accomplished together. Blindsight received its North American premiere at the 2006 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: PG, 1 hr. 44 min.
Directed By: Lucy Walker
Genres: Documentary, Action & Adventure, Special Interest

In Theaters: Sep 11, 2006 Wide
On DVD: Jan 13, 2009
Studio: Spark Entertainment

Critic Reviews

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
To see how these conflicts play out, to see how both sides came to realize that they had unexpected things to learn from these remarkable young people, is where Blindsight really makes its mark.
Andrea Gronvall, Chicago Reader
Coying and manipulative.
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune
Watching it, you feel almost as much a winner as the kids themselves.
Tasha Robinson, Chicago Tribune
The film is often breathtakingly beautiful, and even as the students triumph over the naysayers, it's melancholy knowing they aren't sharing viewers' experiences of their starkly gorgeous world.
Tamara Straus, San Francisco Chronicle
Simultaneously a sports adventure film, a tear-jerking tale of hope and inspiration and a captivating meditation on culture clash.
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic
Blindsight is hugely affecting, the rare experience that will make those who watch it thankful for what they have, yet make them realize that they aren't nearly thankful enough.
Matthew Pejkovic, Matt's Movie Reviews
Along with its strong emotional pull and engrossing personalities, Blindsight also features some breath taking images of the Himalayas, and some nerve wrecking scenes that would make those of us who are afraid of heights to start sweating bullets.
John A. Nesbit, Old School Reviews
memorable portrait of some truly courageous individuals and previously unrevealed insights to Tibetan culture
Rich Cline, Shadows on the Wall
An important, heart-soaring record of a group of incredibly brave people doing something almost everyone would tell them is impossible.
Derek Malcolm, This is London
You wouldn't believe it as fiction but it really is fairly unadorned fact. It is easy to see awards beckoning, and deservedly so because Walker as a film-maker never puts herself in front of her extraordinary subjects.
Anthony Quinn, Independent
How they managed the trek defies belief, but in an art-form where superpowers have become passé, it's a stirring reminder of what human powers, against the odds, can achieve.
Nigel Andrews, Financial Times
Lucy Walker's documentary Blindsight is breathtaking twice over. It leaves the audience gasping like a landed guppy at views of snow-coddled Himalayan peaks under ice-blue skies.
Tom Dawson, Total Film
The ascent reveals a fascinating clash of values between the more gung-ho Americans (who are determined to reach the top) and the youngsters' remarkable teacher Sabriye Tenberken.
Rob Daniel, Sky Movies
Lucy Walker's inspirational, award-winning documentary, which leaves condescension and treacle out in the cold, emerging as one of the year's most illuminating, heartbreaking, and life-affirming movies.
Tim Robey, Daily Telegraph
Lucy Walker's documentary is genuinely stirring.
Peter Bradshaw, Guardian [UK]
Walker's ending is fudged both in terms of the narrative and the issues, and she seems to come down, a little feebly, on the "heartwarming" side of things. But what an amazing, and bizarre, story.
Wendy Ide, Times [UK]
A strikingly photographed documentary that unfolds into a story of human achievement and a study of the East-West culture clash.
Tom Dawson, Film4
An accomplished work from documentarian Walker, who uses her battle-against-the odds story to illuminate how Tibetan society mistreats its blind citizens.
David Jenkins, Time Out
Blindsight is a great example of the emotional dividends that careful photography, sensitive editing and an atmospheric score can deliver.
Helen OHara, Empire Magazine
Uplifting but never mawkish, and gorgeously shot.

Read all 23 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Randy T

Inspirational documentary about the trials and tribulations of six blind Tibetan kids as they set out to climb Lhakpa Ri in the Himalayas. Emotional and uplifting.
Lesley N

I enjoyed this, but I think there was a more interesting documentary trying to get out . The childrens personailties were sketchy and the contrast between the western/"proper climbers" aim of reaching the summit v's the eastern/children and teachers purpose of… More
I enjoyed this, but I think there was a more interesting documentary trying to get out . The childrens personailties were sketchy and the contrast between the western/"proper climbers" aim of reaching the summit v's the eastern/children and teachers purpose of exploration, inclusion and growing as a team was only tentatively explored, The best bit was the coda saying what happened next. .
Andrew P

A film which over time has decreaced its appeal to me. It works as a documentary but I failed to connect with anybody in it, instead I ended up questioning why I was sat there watching it which isnt a good thing for an audience member. Avoid it.