Give Me Your Hand is an epic action fantasy piece written, directed, and starred by Kevin Sakac. It follows the adventures of a group of people as they travel through time and space as they die—more specifically, two men, Adam and Will.
There is a lot to say about this film, the first of which is that the effort is quite amazing. Here we have a nearly three-hour sci-fi piece made with just around €20,000 and that, if we are honest, it really holds up, thus showing how great, big films can exist even with little money. Granted, the film doesn’t have big CGI effects or outstanding locations… but it doesn’t really need them, either. What this movie does is use its limited resources in a rather clever way. There are plenty of exterior shots, many of which take place in the woods or old buildings, thus helping to create the feeling that we have traveled to the Middle Ages or World War II, while smart camera moves and editing tricks (such as the color changes) add to the charm of this wild project.
We say “wild” in the best possible way. Again, we are still amazed by how Sakac and company managed to pull out such an ambitious project with so limited resources. The story is incredibly complex, and our previous synopsis of it doesn’t even begin to do justice to it.
So, we need to go deeper on this…
The film opens with Adam, a troubled young man full of existential/philosophical questions such as what is life, what is death, what is beyond it, and what if we have existed before but we don’t remember it. All of this is brought up just in the opening scenes and from that moment on, you just know that you’re about to go on a wild trip… a wild trip that begins when Adam suffers an accident and wakes up in a place between worlds – the limbo. Filled with doubt, Adam then embarks on a quest to recover the memories of his most recent life, but as he does this, he soon finds himself traveling through different places, ages, and lives, all while dealing with other people who are in the same situation, such as Will. While off to a rocky start, Adam and Will soon create a bond and work together to recover the memories of previous lives (some of which are linked to historical and even mythological events, such as King Arthur’s legend), and this is where the film turns into a hybrid between Cloud Atlas and Memento.
Now, much as those films, Give Me Your Hand demands the viewer’s absolute attention (as well as some patience). The concept is incredibly complex. The world Sakac has created is full of unique rules and strange twists, and a lot is going on. Beyond Adam and Will, the film soon starts following other “lost souls” that require their help as well as historical figures and even a group of bloodthirsty warriors that are always on the hunt, and if you blink or get distracted for just one moment, you might get lost track of what’s happening. This is not really a bag thing, though. We could say the same about films like The Matrix or Inception. It’s just a world that it’s too difficult to understand and even more to explain, so, please, if you are interested in watching it, commit to the film and don’t do anything else. Avoid cellphones. Avoid watching it at hours when there is noise or distractions. It will be worth it.
After all, even though there are plenty of time-travel/multiverse/limbo films, we rarely get one that does justice to their premise and concept… and this film does. What Sakac and company have done here is allow themselves to go and explore all the possibilities a premise like this could bring and they have succeeded in showing what living different lives through time and space would mean for a person. This, then, makes the film a wonderful option for any sci-fi/fantasy aficionado.
That said, we do have to point out one of the film’s biggest problems – well, not a problem per se, but a reason why it would be difficult for some viewers to watch it: its length. Doing over two-hour films is always a tricky business, especially in modern times where the audiences’ attention span has decreased, and for a long film, its existence must be justified with a complex, epic plot. In that sense, this project achieves that. Again, the film really embraces its thematic potential by jumping through space and time, but, by doing so, it has become a juggernaut of a project, and it might be challenging for a person to watch it in just one sit – especially because, as mentioned, the idea is too complex and we could even suggest the viewers to have pen and paper to write down everything that is happening so they don’t get lost.
Again, this is not really a problem as such, and we are quite impressed by Sakac’s ability to create such an elaborate, complex piece. This is a narrative labyrinth and a tour-de-force for an indie filmmaker, and we genuinely encourage any reader to give this film a chance. Make an effort and try watching it in one sitting or watch it in parts, but do it. Despite the limited production, the story and performances are worthy, and we hope to watch more projects of Sakac and company.
Recommended for you
Leave a Reply
Leave a Reply
