this film about Ryan Knighton would be based on Cockeyed, his memoir about going blind. Anyway, it’s not.

In As Slow as Possible, Ryan goes to a town in Germany where the residents have built as organ to play John Cage’s composition, Organ²/ASLSP (As SLow aS Possible) as slowly as possible. In fact it will take over six hundred years. Ryan comes to town for the changing of the note which happens every few years or so. So why? Well, Ryan’s condition has meant constant changes in his vision and each time he feels he has come to terms with his blindness it changes yet again. After the big climax scene when the note changes Ryan points out that after a minute or so he can’t even remember what the old note sounded like.

This is a very focussed film and Ryan’s personality is what pulls it along - without his particular sparkle, the congruence of ideas wouldn’t really work at all.