5 / December
2011
A Quintessential Profile
The triumph of mind over matter (Mulugeta Gebrekidan)
A review by William Head
The secret behind successful profile documentaries is most usually the unique qualities of the featured person themselves. This is certainly the case for Mulugeta Gebrekidan’s short The Triumph of Mind Over Matter. Although the film offers little in the way of cinematic revelations, its intrigue lies in the extraordinary abilities of the film’s central character Sintayehu Teshale. At one point during the film Sintayehu proudly explains that ’people say that he can do things with his legs that we can’t do with our hands’. It is a statement that holds the key to this film’s intrigue.
At its most obvious this is a film about spectacle. Its about how necessity can teach the human body a level of dexterity unimagined by those lucky enough never to need it. We watch in amazement as Sintayehu builds wooden stools with his feet. His toes grasp a chisel to work wood on a lathe and his legs garner the power to strike a nail with the precision usually reserved for those with unhindered arms.
For the casual observer there is an unease to his actions and this embues this documentary with a sense of danger. With each new task that Sintayehu proudly demonstrates, one cannot help but feel he is but a small mistake away from a bloody accident. An accident that would surely signal a catastrophe even more tragic than his current circumstance. It is with much relief that such a scene does not eventuate before our eyes. Yet what makes this micro-doc engaging is not the empathy we feel for a un-deserving victim but for the human spirit of achievement that is literally embodied by a man determined to make the most of what life has given to him. In this sense, the film is quintessential storytelling – a protagonist who strives to overcome dangerous obstacles in order that the next chapter of his story may continue.
William Head
A review by William Head
The secret behind successful profile documentaries is most usually the unique qualities of the featured person themselves. This is certainly the case for Mulugeta Gebrekidan’s short The Triumph of Mind Over Matter. Although the film offers little in the way of cinematic revelations, its intrigue lies in the extraordinary abilities of the film’s central character Sintayehu Teshale. At one point during the film Sintayehu proudly explains that ’people say that he can do things with his legs that we can’t do with our hands’. It is a statement that holds the key to this film’s intrigue.
At its most obvious this is a film about spectacle. Its about how necessity can teach the human body a level of dexterity unimagined by those lucky enough never to need it. We watch in amazement as Sintayehu builds wooden stools with his feet. His toes grasp a chisel to work wood on a lathe and his legs garner the power to strike a nail with the precision usually reserved for those with unhindered arms.
For the casual observer there is an unease to his actions and this embues this documentary with a sense of danger. With each new task that Sintayehu proudly demonstrates, one cannot help but feel he is but a small mistake away from a bloody accident. An accident that would surely signal a catastrophe even more tragic than his current circumstance. It is with much relief that such a scene does not eventuate before our eyes. Yet what makes this micro-doc engaging is not the empathy we feel for a un-deserving victim but for the human spirit of achievement that is literally embodied by a man determined to make the most of what life has given to him. In this sense, the film is quintessential storytelling – a protagonist who strives to overcome dangerous obstacles in order that the next chapter of his story may continue.
William Head