Humans can close their eyes but never their auditory canal. This simple fact signals the end of musician Graham’s career: an incessant pathological noise has invaded his head. Alice, the photographer, goes blind because of a retina disease. And Katie, the third protagonist in this astonishing film about the human spirit’s power of resistance, is beaten into a coma in her first professional boxing match, from which she awakes weeks later without a memory (adapted for the screen in “Million Dollar Baby”). Reset!

A powerful visual journey into the interior worlds of people forced to cope with extreme loss of senses. The co-directors Erinnisse and Patryk Rebisz rely on visually stylised depictions of the senses to give every drama its corresponding imagery. Blind Alice continues to work with the camera, the memory chip of her brain supplying experiential values for the new photos. In contrast, the ex-boxer’s brain keeps producing new, unfamiliar images that ultimately lead her to painting. And Graham, whose band was his life, re-invents himself, though without expectations, as the stage manager of a music festival. This boldly narrated and visually unusual film concludes in admiration for our species’ ability to transform personal crises into insights and new beginnings – at least sometimes.

Matthias Heeder