Handicapped

I viewed an extremely bad print of this short film that was seriously deteriorated, so I had tremendous difficulty following the silent action ... which is a shame, because I was able to see enough of this movie to realise that 'Handicapped' was a genuinely original and imaginative film.

The gimmick here is that the story is told entirely through close-up shots of people's hands. The movements of the hands, and the props which they manipulate, are cleverly employed to delineate the personalities of characters whom we otherwise never see. While trying to view this film frame by frame, I was reminded of the very clever Morecambe and Wise skit (from their 1970s series) in which a man's entire life is depicted by means of close-ups of various types of shoes.

I've got to hand it to the makers of 'Handicapped' for coming up with such a clever idea. I hope that a better print of this movie is available somewhere, ideally transferred to acetate stock. As I've seen only fragments of 'Handicapped', I shan't rate this movie. Will 'Handicapped' settle for a thumbs-up?