The movie begins with credits displayed in braille as a computer voice reads them aloud, immediately placing us in our main character’s shoes, as will be the case for the entirety of THE BLIND MAN WHO DID NOT WANT TO SEE TITANIC. The whole film essentially takes place in a tight frame, locked onto Jaakko’s (Petri Poikolainen) face as everything surrounding him remains blurry and out of focus. To this end, it is almost like we are experiencing the world entirely through Jaakko’s perspective as a blind man who uses a wheelchair to get around as a result of his Multiple Sclerosis.
Jaakko is a total cinephile, referencing the best of the best of ’80s and ’90s flicks in every conversation he has. His DVD collection is a real point of pride and identity for him, explaining to his long-distance girlfriend Sirpa (Marjaana Maijala) that he keeps all of his DVDs, even though he can’t see them, because if someone came over, they would know what kind of guy he was just by looking. One of the most central pieces in his film collection is his copy of TITANIC, never before opened with the cling wrap still on. He’s a James Cameron purist and refuses to watch TITANIC because it represents Cameron selling out after the success of “real” movies like ALIEN and THE TERMINATOR. Sirpa happens to love TITANIC, but that’s okay, everybody has their faults.
In his dreams, Jaakko is always running. For the most part, his waking life exists only within the walls of his one-bedroom flat. He spends his days talking with his dad and his girlfriend on the phone, betting on online gambling apps, spending time with various caregivers, and smoking weed. He listens as neighbors pass by his open window, loudly making hurtful and baseless assumptions about him, and what he must have done to “deserve” his current circumstances. Jaakko longs for an escape, and a tearful conversation with Sirpa gives him the push he needs to take action. Sirpa has her own medical diagnosis that leaves her mostly housebound, and after receiving bad news one day, she wonders if they will ever manage to meet in person before one of them dies.
None of Jaakko’s regular caregivers are available to take him to Sirpa, so he sets out on his own for the journey involving two taxis, a train, and “the kindness of five strangers” to help him get there. This statement may be where many viewers get the sense that things could go horribly, horribly wrong. The kindness of strangers is not always something that can be relied on, and your heart rate begins to pick up at the thought of the kind of people Jaakko could run into. Jaakko doesn’t think like that though. Jaakko approaches every situation and hurdle with optimism and openness, assuming the best in people and excited for this adventure that he views as the triumphant scene in the movie where the guy rescues the girl. This is his great escape, etched into every line of the exuberant expression on his face as he gets his first taste of freedom in the taxi taking him away.
The desire for escapism is a familiar one to many fans of cinema; often the reason that many of us immerse ourselves so fully into the worlds of the movies we watch. If whatever may be happening in our real world is unsatisfactory, we have thousands of other worlds to choose from. Unfortunately, but perhaps predictably, the world that Jaakko was so excited to enter into turns on him quickly. It isn’t long before a man he meets on the train sizes him up quickly and decides he is a target, whisking him away to a secluded location to rob him of all his money. It is bleak and devastating and unfair to see people treat this man that the viewer has grown to love for his humor, resilience, and compassion, with such disregard. Even in these dark moments, Jaakko holds onto his humor. Throughout the film, he imagines the people in his life who he has never seen as the movie characters he associates them with. For example, Sirpa is Ripley from ALIEN, and his caretaker is Annie from MISERY. In the same vein, these men who are threatening fatal bodily harm against him are merely “the bad guys from FARGO.” This makes these awful men feel smaller somehow, more manageable, and that ability is just one of Jaakko’s great gifts.
The film would be nothing without Poikolainen’s performance as Jaakko given that his face is almost the only thing that is in focus for the entire movie. The audience becomes so acquainted with every inch of his face, from the way his teeth slot together, to the slope of his nose, to that little piece of dead skin hanging onto the outside of his left ear. This intense sense of closeness means that we experience every moment along with Jaakko and Poikolainen plays this character like an open book. You ache for Jaakko, you cry with him, and you can’t help but be swept up in the vastness of his emotions. It is remarkable how a film structured to feel so intimate manages to feel so huge all at the same time. It draws you in, leaving you gripping the edge of your seat, hoping against all hope that Jaakko will be able to find his way through his tumultuous journey and end up in the arms of his love.
Tags: alien, Fargo, Film Festivals, James Cameron, Marjaana Maijala, Misery, Petri Poikolainen, SXSW, SXSW 2022, Teemu Nikki, The Blind Man Who Did Not Want to See Titanic, The Terminator, Titanic
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