Imagine

A prestigious eye clinic in Lisbon seems like the perfect place for Ian (Edward Hogg) to teach other blind people his very special ability: Ian has trained himself to find his way around using only his hearing. He hardly ever uses a cane. Ian wants to help the young patients at the clinic discover the world around them in a whole new, exciting way. But the clinic's management is quickly becoming a thorn in the side of the teacher's methods. They fear that Ian may want to put the young people in his care in danger and insist that he stick to conventional teaching methods. However, the withdrawn Eva (Alexandra Maria Lara) in particular is convinced of Ian's abilities and places all her trust in him, hoping that he can show her the way out of her own personal darkness.

Imagine tells, with very naturally acting actors and quiet humour, of the power of the imagination, of the unshakeable will to free oneself from isolation and of the fear many people have of the new and unknown. The staging by Andrzej Jakimowski (Little Tricks) is pleasantly unobtrusive. It focuses not only on the tentatively developing friendship between Ian and Eva, but also on haunting imagery and carefully crafted sound design. As a result, the filmmaker does an excellent job of drawing the viewer into the story.

It's not just the fact that lead actor Edward Hogg has been intensively trained in the art of echolocation by the blind Alejandro Navas that makes his performance so believable. This is important in that, while Ian's methods already make him stand out in some way, he's still not meant to seem like a foreign body. And Hogg actually manages very well not to seem like a spasmodic actor among the 16 blind or visually impaired young people who play his students, thus preserving the authentic atmosphere of the production.

The most interesting aspect dramaturgically are certainly the doubts and hostility Ian has to endure because of his use of echolocation. This even goes so far as to raise doubts that he really is blind. And the more Ian tries to open his pupils to the world, the more he catapults himself into the sidelines. From this situation the film draws a lot of emotional power and also a certain tension. However, this is counteracted by a very calm narrative style that is sometimes a bit too carried. While for some viewers this gives the imagery the chance to fully unfold, for others this could be considered tough and boring. Therefore, there should definitely be a soft spot for worn stories and calm productions to really enjoy Imagine.

Because only then the poetic level of the even superficially beautiful story can fully come to bear, which then also eliminates some of the quite existing lengths to a large extent. Therefore: a beautiful, sometimes poetic, then again humorous film, which can be recommended to all lovers of quiet arthouse fare. Worth seeing

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp