Educational Media Reviews Online

Director Maitland invites viewers into the world of Chas, Denise, Isaac, and Meagan during a year of their lives at the Texas School for the Blind. The documentary captures the high school students’ everyday experiences as they navigate their social lives, personal challenges, and reflect their personal development. The result is a film about four unique students who are more than their disability.

The documentary tells the story of the students in an unscripted, narrative style that captures their emotions and experiences. It follows Denise’s journey to confidence as she takes lead in the school play and attends her first high school dance. It documents how Chas drops out of school and captures Isaac’s adjustment to his recent blindness. The film celebrates Meagan’s graduation and future goals. It is easy to emphasize with these students as through their good times and tough situations, which helps drive home the film’s purpose of humanizing individuals who are blind.

The film features a linear story structure that flows from the fall semester until the graduation the following spring. The film craftily moves from student to student, giving it a nice pace and helps ensure that segments are not overdrawn. The only downside for this sequencing is that sometimes it takes a few moments to figure out what has happened since a student’s previous appearance. Rotoscoped transitions of the students complement the segments; this effect is particularly powerful in the context of capturing the students’ thoughts.

While the technical quality of the film is average, it’s message behind the documentary that make it worthy of a recommendation. The documentary is probably best for classroom with high school students or for general audiences, although college courses could easily dissect the film for the social and economic issues that influence the students’ lives. Overall, this documentary helps provide much needed perspective on society’s general lack of understanding regarding blindness.