Hands On A Hard Body

Year: 1997

Grade: B

Country: USA

Director: Bindler

Review

a simple, but surprisingly effective documentary. the film follows about 20-odd contestants as they compete for a nissan truck somewhere in texas. the object of the competition is to keep your hand on the truck longer than any of your competitors. it’s an extremely simple concept, but the film is somehow able to capture the natural drama that unfolds amongst the competitors. one of the women who makes it into the final four is this super religious lady who keeps listening to sermons on her headphones and is able to gain strength through the lord to continue. you’ll have to watch the film to see if she wins, but i will tell you that the competition is pretty tense by the end of the film. i think a major success of the film is its ability to convey the length and harshness of the competition. at the beginning of the film i thought that 87 hours (which is what was required two competitions prior to the one being filmed) was a pretty long time, but not all that out of reach. however, as you see the competitors steadily dropping out because of physical exhaustion, sleep deprivation, delirium, and other maladies, it becomes clear just how hard the event really is. i stayed up about 60 straight hours once to write a couple papers and i remember being pretty delirious at the end of that marathon. i also had the luxury of being able to sit, or move freely as i saw fit so it’s not at all comparable. a pretty fun film to watch.