Selina D'Arcy (Elizabeth Hartman) is a blind young woman starving for affection and the experiences life brings. She lives in a one room apartment with her Old Pa and verbally and physically abusive mother, Rose-Ann (Shelley Winters).
When Selina was five years old her father came home to find Rose-Ann with another man. They began fighting and in the battle Rose-Ann threw a bottle at him. It missed. And hit Selina in the face, blinding her. She's been sheltered all her life both from the outside world and people. She was never taught Braille or self reliance of any kind.
Her hunger for experience, of being able to run free through the park, enjoying the grass, trees, birds and open fields overwhelms and depresses her at the same time. One day she encourages Mr. Faber, a man she strings beads into necklaces for, to take her to the park so she can work there. Her mother is against any form of happiness/independence for Selina and even beats her because she went out. This doesn't deter Selina. Especially since she met a special friend named Gordon (Sidney Poitier) there.
Gordon and Selina develop a special friendship, meeting under the same tree every day. Gordon is intrigue by her blindness and innocence. He becomes quite protective of her and begins looking into ways to help her leave her current situation and become self sufficient. Selina is warmed by his kindness and willingness to share the world with her.
One of the best scenes in the movie is when they are sitting in the park talking and she tells him about her first and only friend she had when she was a child and how she still misses her deeply. Her mother forbade her to have any association with the girl because she was black. This is a pivotal moment because Selina does not know he is black.
Shelley Winters delivers an amazing performance as a royal� wicked woman who is determined to keep her daughter a sheltered slave (with plans of prostituting her). Winters won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for this role. Elizabeth Hartman was nominated for best actress and actually won a Golden Globe for "Most Promising Female Newcomer" for her performance of Selina. She made an amazing effort and I found her to be believable. Sidney Poitier is the perfect hero.
A Patch of Blue is based on a novel by Australian author Elizabeth Kata. Beyond the racial taboos its deepest theme is about one person doing something good for another with no expectations in return. This 1965 film was made in black and white which adds to the character of the film and the limitations and boundaries of the actors. The ending is left open to interpretation, I assume because of the turbulent racial times it was filmed in. I really enjoyed and highly recommend it.
Purchase A Patch of Blue from Amazon.com.
Purchase A Patch of Blue from Amazon.com.
