‘Blind Sun’ (review)

Produced by Fenia Cossovitsa, Lionel Guedj,
Philippe Akoka, Alain Peyrollaz,
Vincent Brançon, Dominique Marzotto
Written and Directed by Joyce A. Nashawati
Starring Ziad Bakri, Mimi Denissi,Yannis Stankoglou,
Louis-Do de Lencquesaing, Gwendoline Hamon

In a quasi-dystopian near future Greece, an immigrant named Ashraf Idriss travels through a series of decimated towns and desolate dessert roads on the way to his new job. Ashraf has been hired to look after the estate of a wealthy family who are taking leave of Greece during this turbulent time of economic collapse, heightened xenophobia, and drought, he has been tasked with draining the families pool, watching their pet cat, and protecting their home from potential looters.

Upon entering the town Ashraf is harassed by a police officer that confiscates his identification and work permit before he even before he arrived at the estate, which puts Ashraf in a tough position by limiting his ability to move about freely. This stress combined with the surrounding social climate and threat of intruders into the estate start to take their toll on Ashraf’s mental state and the unforgiving heat wave isn’t helping. What should have been a relatively relaxing job soon becomes a paranoid nightmare.

Blind Sun is in the simplest of terms a slow burn thriller but it is one that rewards the viewer’s patience.

What starts off as social commentary develops into a tense and gripping study on paranoia and self doubt as strange and unexplained events begin to happen around the estate. The story is certainly a well-crafted and tense exploration of one man’s mental state in a time of stress and persecution.

The visual style of Blind Sun perfectly matches it’s minimalist story by filling the screen with washed out sun baked landscapes and towns that look more like ruins than inhabited locations. While the acting, especially from lead Ziad Bakri, is great across the board with the characters being believable. First time feature director Joyce A. Nashawati delivers a powerful psychological thriller, which will certainly satisfy fans of the genre.

Blind Sun is now playing exclusively on Shudder.com