land of the blind movie image Photo

Land of the Blind

Starring: Lara Flynn Boyle, Henry Breitrose, Ian Chorao, Ron Cook, Mackenzie Crook

Directed by: Robert Edwards

RS: 1.5of 4 Stars

2006 Bauer Martinez Studios Drama

Political satire is so rare that it's a shame to watch the reliable Ralph Fiennes and Donald Sutherland lend their talents to one that is blind to its own incompetence. In an unnamed place at an unspecified time -- can't you feel pretentiousness creeping in? -- a soldier (Fiennes) helps an imprisoned playwright (Sutherland) escape and overthrow a dictator, only to become a dictator himself. In his debut project, writer-director Robert Edwards -- a former U.S. Army intelligence officer in Iraq -- acts as if he's saying something profound. He isn't.