Blink (dirs. Daniel Roher & Edmund Stenson)
By: Adam Freed
Heartbreak and gratitude are hardly common bedfellows. The juxtaposition of these terms questions one’s ability to find reason for thanks in the face of an unbearable diagnosis. Somehow, the story of the Pelletier family, a Montreal based couple and their four adorable children, finds a way to partner heartbreak with hope and despair with determination. National Geographic films presents Blink, a bite sized documentary about a family who following a diagnosis that will render three of their four children blind, embark on a global journey to fill their remaining days of sight with monumental visual memories that will last a lifetime. Directors Daniel Roher and Edmund Stenson brilliantly alchemize countless emotions resulting in one of 2024’s most potent and digestible documentaries.
The true to life story has such grandiose intention and delivers evidence of the unbreakable strength of a family unified by catastrophe’s cruel grasp. While the Pelletiers do not present as a family searching for pity, it feels impossible not to drown the brave parents in empathy as they attempt to convert a shower of lemons into a memorable batch of lemonade. The three children are diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa or “RP” a degenerative ocular condition which impacts the retina, commonly resulting in total blindness for children prior to reaching puberty. Blink is a quest to provide a world of technicolor memories for children before they are cast into a realm of darkness. From the Northern Lights to the Great Pyramid of Giza, Roher and Stenson’s globetrotting doc captivates with a plethora of transcendent visual images. Paired with a stripped down narration and a naturalist’s sensibility, Blink never feels overly produced, adding to the experience of traveling the world with four children all under the age of 12.
The purity and cohesiveness of the family stands out as the apex celebration of the film, even beyond hiking the Himalayas, or basking in a sunset in the White Desert of Egypt. Witnessing children learn to manage and adapt as the world around them dims, is about as gut-wrenching, an experience as can be had with a National Geographic film. While watching Blink it feels impossible to shake the notion that one is bearing witness to the best days of these children’s lives as the looming threat of their diagnosis makes it extremely difficult to fully embrace each moment’s magnificence. Blink captures countless, breathtaking visual landscapes, but the real beauty of the film is the unconditional love that a family shows one another in the face of impending hardship. The innocence of the adventure is a distilled example of the purity of heart that only children can muster. Years from now the story of the Pelletier family may fade in memory, but the powerful reminder of Blink is to live a life of gratitude for the unbridled enthusiasm and wandering spirit present in children, and to make a permanent record of the glories of the world that can be shared with them.
Target Score 8/10: Through the emotionally evocative documentary Blink, National Geographic offers a meaningful reminder of the vital importance of gratitude packaged as a family global adventure. Using the painful story of the Pelletier family as its key subject, the desire to seize the day has never felt more relevant.