As a parent, I want to ensure that my kids have everything they need. I will admit that there have been some hard times in my household but everything my wife and I do is for our children. We have shared the story of our son’s epilepsy and how that has affected our household. While we have been ensured that he will outgrow his condition other families have to deal with something that won’t go away with time.
Blink follows parents, Édith Lemay & Sébastien Pelletier, and their children Mia age 11, Léo age 9, Colin age 6, & Laurent age 4, for a year as they travel the world. Now while this sounds like an exciting family adventure there is more to the story. Three of the four children, Mia, Colin, & Laurent, have a degenerative eye condition called retinitis pigmentosa. The disease causes cells in the retina to break down over time and this leads to vision loss.
Since there is no known cure, Édith is told by a specialist that they should fill their children’s “visual memory” with images to give their kids a reference point once their vision is gone. Instead of just showing the kids images from books they decide to travel the world and not only give their children visual memories, but incredible experiences that will last them their entire lives. The kids made a bucket list of things they want to do and this guides their travel.
Throughout the movie we see the family have some incredible moments and some terrifying ones too. Note: riding a cable car might not be something I want to do after one moment in this documentary. On these adventures we get to see the strengths of each kid and get to really know the family. Seeing how each kid deals with their condition is endearing and heartbreaking. For the parents, we also see how they cope with knowing that this is something that can’t be fixed. As parents, we always want to make sure our children are in good health but we also have to know when to accept what we can change and make the best of it.
While there is no fairy tale ending to this family’s story we do see how a year of traveling brought them closer together. There is a tender moment between mother and daughter in the deserts of Egypt. Édith asks Mia to close her eyes and tell her what she feels. This moment is shown in the trailer but after seeing everything the family has gone through, this scene packs a bigger punch. Mia tells Édith what she feels and hears with her eyes closed and motions to feeling the heat of the sun on the right side of her body. In a way, I wonder if this is Édith’s way of preparing her daughter when she is no longer around.
Amongst moments like this we see some fun moments of the kids swimming in the Amazon and repelling off a cliff. We see them take a long hike where they befriend a dog by the name of Bella, that foreshadows their reliance on animals in the future. We also see the children preparing for their lives once their retinas succumb to this disease. This is not the ending that we want to see but we must remember that life doesn’t always turn out the way you want it and we have to make the best of it. Édith & Sébastien have done an amazing job with their children and taught us to make sure we cherish every moment.
Final Thought: Blink is a beautiful documentary that shows how a family’s love can make the difference in a difficult situation. Following the family on their year-long adventure reminds us to enjoy every moment that we have. While the upcoming future of the children is bleak, we see that they are confronting it in the best way they can: Together. This is one documentary that you will want to experience again for years to come.
Kid-Friendly: Blink is very kid friendly and families should watch this together. There is some language every now and then but it is very limited.
Violence: There is no violence in the movie just images of the kids rough-housing with each other.
When three of their four children are diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, a rare and incurable disease that leads to severe visual impairment, the Pelletier family’s world changes forever. In the face of this life-altering news, Edith Lemay, Sébastien Pelletier and their children set out on a journey around the world to experience all its beauty while they still can. As they fill their memories with breathtaking destinations and once-in-a-lifetime encounters, the family’s love, resilience and unshakeable sense of wonder ensure that their uncertain future does not define their present.