At the heart of craftsmanship

A meditative exploration of craftsmanship and the passion of artisans, Hand Gestures takes a long, slow look at the work of Fonderia Artistica Battaglia, a foundry located in Milan, that has been making bronze sculptures for the last century. The technique they use, lost-wax casting, goes back even further, to the 4th millennium BC. This information, about the technique and the foundry is shown at the beginning of the film, and then for 77 minutes we are left alone, with the craftsmen and a sculpture.

With no soundtrack, other than the occasional strain of a classical concerto coming in from the radio, and largely static shots, director Francesco Clerici seems to have taken a leaf out of Frederick Wiseman’s book – although it is good that he does not inhabit a Wiseman-esque approach to time, since there is no way the subject would have been able to stretch to more than the film’s current run time. Thoughtfully shot throughout, there is the sense that we are being admitted into a sacred space when we enter the foundry, something only heightened by the silence of the craftsmen.

Throughout, the footage is interspersed with footage from the 1960s; lost-wax casting is passed down by oral tradition, and – as the black and white clips show – the only thing to have changed is the approach to health and safety. Although– spoiler alert – the life-size dog sculpture produced at the end is fucking hideous, Hand Gestures serves as a powerful visual link to the past. But the line between pensive and ponderous is a narrow one, and while Hand Gestures just about manages to remain entertainingly reflective, it did push this sleep-deprived reviewer to the limit.

Final Verdict: 2.5 Stars