HANDEN (1960)

next up is a poignant Dutch short film by Ed van der Elsken called Handen (1960).

{1960, 5mins, 16mm, b&w, Netherlands}

Handen {Hands} is an experimental documentary film by Dutch photographer et filmmaker Ed van der Elsken. the film is a moving et poetic observation of how hands play an integral part in human life, from birth to death. the cyclical structure of the Handen poignantly illustrates the long et varied life that hands have, we witness a newborn child's smooth hands coming to life, it's tiny fingers slowly, intuitively feeling their way into the world et finally, hands wrinkled with old age come to rest in death, fingers peacefully interlocked.

et in-between ...

van der Elsken creatively shows us the stages of a love story from the point-of-view of hands. we witness the pangs of first love, a missed rendezvous, a confessional love note written et handed on, then read in secret with excitement, hands tentatively touching, faces kissing, hands tenderly stroking one another, then groping passionately during lovemaking ... reality sets in, we see a woman's hands knitting a baby blanket, a wedding ring slides onto a finger, a mother holds her newborn baby et a man's hands hard at work.
 

 

from time to time we hear the inner thoughts belonging to the hands via voice-over narration, as they are thinking about their homework, writing a love letter, reading the letter etc, these small insights make the hands more 'human', the voices enhance our relationship to the faceless hands, we connect with them more, if only for a moment.

near the end of Handen there is a wonderful montage sequence that contains the most striking images in the film, they come when van der Elsken takes to the streets of his beloved Amsterdam et does what he does best, photographs everyday people at work. he utilizes a free, verité style to capture the hands of men hard at work in labouring jobs, their hands are heavily worn et dirty. in one powerful sequence van der Elsken shows the workers proudly holding their hands/palms up to face the camera.

Handen was van der Elsken's first short film made for television broadcast, he put his skills as a street photographer to work on this beautifully observed film, made in high contrast 16mm black & white.

you can watch Handen here. enjoy!

you can visit Ed van der Elsken's official site which details his life et career here.