I just finished watching the movie “At First Sight” played by Val Kilmer. The movie was very touching and intimate at times. I suddenly wanted to capture every moments, the sequence of events that happened, the mixed emotions I felt and I wanted to write them all down here before I forget.
I remembered I once saw this movie back when I was younger, I don’t really know how long ago that was but I still remember bits and pieces of it. So tonight when I found the movie title from Cinemax on my On Demand channel, I decided to give it a try after eating dinner.
And you know what? It made me cry and it made me feel bad for the blind man only to realize in the end that I shouldn’t feel bad for him at all.
The story was a bout this blind masseur in Pinecrest. Anyway this one woman named Amy (she was an architect) needed to take a vacation to relax and unwind. So when she arrived in town and checked in to a spa, she requested for something relaxing that didn’t include exercise – she was recommended for a massage. She met a man named Virgil where she had her first massage. At first she didn’t even know Virgil was blind and then when she came after him next to a school bus that was when she found out he couldn’t see. They got to know each other and fell in love. Then one day Amy brought up an opportunity for Virgil to be able to see by meeting a doctor she found from an article, but when she told Virgil about it he became mad. The following day when Amy came to say goodbye to him, Virgil told Amy about the number of steps he needed to walk toward a tree. And if he slowed down or didn’t pay attention that he’ll miss the count and end up bumping into a tree. It was an analogy that made Amy stay for the night with him and when Virgil woke up in the middle of the night he looked worried not having Amy next to him. In the morning Virgil decided to go to NY and see the eye doctor where he agreed for an operation. The result was positive at first, allowing him to see. He had a problem with perception and was dependent mostly with his sense of touch.
I liked the part where he wanted to see Amy – all of her. It was very intimate and very romantic. I also liked when Virgil saw Amy kissed her ex-husband and I felt what Virgil felt. He was jealous and then he was frustrated with people dancing at the party and realized he didn’t belong to the crowd. He just wanted to come home. Then black outs started and when he went to see the doctor he was told that he’s going blind again. Just having that realization broke my heart knowing that soon Virgil will never see daylight again. Virgil went to see his father who had left him and his sister when they were younger. Virgil then asked him why he left them. I saw the tears in Virgil’s eyes and the tears that trickled down his cheeks. I saw the tears formed on his father’s eyes and it squeezed my heart to see them hurting. Virgil didn’t tell Amy right away and instead asked Amy to go watch a hockey game with him. Then Virgil saw the cotton candy. He had a childhood memory with his father where the last thing he saw was something fluffy.
Virgil decided to come back home to his hometown, alone where he left Amy in NY. I understood that he did this to himself because he knew there was nothing left for him and Amy together in the future. He’s going blind and Amy expected more from him, something he could never give to her anymore. He left Amy who was in tears. I thought Amy would stop him but she just stayed sitting on the floor, crying. I cried with her because I knew how much she loved him and I knew she only wanted the best for him.
Then another tear-jerker moment was when Virgil told his sister that she didn’t need to take care of him anymore. That she was beautiful and that she had done so many great things for him and that it’s about time she start to think for herself. It was his way of reaching out, he said. The way he told her how thankful he was to her and how much he loved her was very emotional, I couldn’t help myself but go with the flow of tears.
Then Virgil ended up working at the school for the blind when he came back to New York. That’s right, I never thought he’d come back to New York, but he did. And he embraced his disability and at the end when he was sitting on a bench with his new dog, Amy came to see him and apologized for moving too fast that led to their problems together. When she looked at him I knew she still had feelings for him and I knew right then and there that they’ll get back together. Well, the movie ended and left me wanting for more. The credits had mentioned that the movie was inspired by a true life story and that the real characters got back together and they got married and moved to Atlanta. [Maybe not exactly the way it happened, but I chose to believe that was what happened.]
Not that many movies out there that could make me cry as much as it did for me tonight for this movie. I cried because somehow I felt like I could relate to the characters, to their emotions, their love, and their struggles in life.
The story also made me realize how lucky I am for just being me – to be able to see everything. I looked around my own bedroom tonight and realized I didn’t have that much of a space to begin with, but I loved the look and feel of it and I am happy just to live a simple life.
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