How to convey five years captivity in one hour and a half with the whole range of contradictory feelings. This is what Blind Flight is about: Beirut 1985, the true story of Keenan and McCarthy kidnapped by a militant Muslim fundamentalist group. One expects immediately a vision of "baddies V Goodies" but the film is a lot more subtle and fairer than that. The Muslim guardians, despite their violence (Lebanon was in a state of war), remain human, and not stereotyped. In fact they appear as victims of politics and in the same time they reproduce the system they are fighting. What is remarkable is the way John Furse maintains your interest throughout an almost static film; for instance one of the kidnapper is proud to show them his new born baby but he is also proud of his new kalachnikof. The film is intelligent, moving, funny and thought provoking. My thought was "what would I do in their place?". McCarthy and Keenan give us a lesson of courage and wisdom we have been longing for for decades. They don't save the world, they broaden its mind by undergoing the kind of test that enlightens what is important in life.
We were very lucky to meet John Furse the director and McCarthy at the end of the show. They were as genuine, interesting and lucid as their film. John Furse's talent makes me look forward for his next film.