Blink

The Pelletier family, a happy gang of six, learn the devastating news: three of the children are going to go blind because of retinitis pigmentosa, Mom and dad, Edith and Seb, decide to give the kids on a very special trip around the world to see all of its wonders until they cannot in “Blink.

Laura's Review: B-

Robin's Review: C+

This is a good-hearted, if uneven, effort by the National Geographic documentary group, telling the story of the family’s trek to see the world – while the kids still can. It begins with the problem and its consequences. Of the four children, only second eldest Leo has avoided the debilitating eye disease. The others, eldest Mia, Collin and youngest Laurent, will steadily lose vision – from normal to narrowing, like looking through a straw.

To get the ball rolling, mom and dad have the kids make up a bucket list of what they want to do. The list contains items such as, to name just a few, go on a safari, sleep on a train, drink juice on a camel, ride horses in Mongolia, scuba dive and make friends in other countries. There are many more entries on their list (many of which, to me, came from the minds of the parents, not necessarily from the kids).

Much of the under-90 minute film is travelogue stuff with the family trekking by plane, train and automobile around the worlds. The run time also includes numerous sequences of the kids playing and the boys roughhousing. Shrift is given to the items on the bucket list but there is no actual indication of just how many entries there were. And, did they check them all off?

If you strip away the playing, roughhousing and “family” interludes, there is a story that could fit an hour slot on PBS. It was a pleasure to see the kids (and, really, their parents) check off the items on their wish list. It was an amazing effort, supposedly done on a $200/day budget, but not a feature film.

National Geographic Documentary Films releases "Blink" on 10/4/24.