LITTLE HANDS is a gem of a film that takes you on a journey through a child’s eyes – as he is kidnapped.
Management is closing down a chemical plant and emotions run high during negotiations. Bruno (Jan Hammenecker) is a more radical worker who kidnaps the toddler of the director of the plant in order to negotiate.
Hammenecker goes on the run with the child – and you feel every heart-pounding moment.
Emile Moulron Lejeune is the child. His performance is nothing short of brilliant – frame after frame. So brilliant that it makes you wonder how Director and Co-Writer, Remi Allier, achieved the task of getting this unforgettable performance by a young boy of no more than two years of age. Lejeune’s performance is so layered that it tugs on the audience heartstrings and connects you to this young soul – whose world changes in a flash.
Hammenecker gives an outstanding performance as a man who is driven by desperation. His performance shines through his internal work as an actor as he completely fills each moment with a complexity. The little boy brings out emotions forgotten by the hardened Hammenecker. He, like the audience, is touched somewhere deep inside by the little boy’s loving gestures towards him.
French Director Remi Allier’s film LITTLE HANDS, took home the Best Short Film Cesar Award (the French Oscars) this year and was in contention at multiple high profile international film festivals. The film, which is in English subtitles, is Shortlisted for a 2020 Academy Award in the Live Action Short Film Category.
The tight Cinematagrophy (Kinan Massarani), Editing (Nicolas Bier) and Score (Leo Duplex) makes this 15 minute short an unforgettable ride.
Perhaps the poignant message of this filmmaker is that we should ALL see the world – through the innocence of the eyes of a child.