What Makes Life Worthwhile When It Nears Its End?

Our latest Free of the Week is a touching insight into what makes life worthwhile when it starts to nears its end, aptly named “A Hand To Hold”.

Johan is 89 years old and suffers from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a common lung disease that he says feels like breathing through a straw. As a consequence, he’s unable to leave his home and at the time of filming, he even finds it hard to get down his staircase to street level.

As a result, Johan lives in a peculiar isolation. His mind is as sharp as ever and he remains curious about the world around him, but his body holds him back from experiencing life firsthand. Instead, he sits at his window with a pair of binoculars, observing the neighbourhood from afar.

But Johan is grateful for one thing, his girlfriend and best friend Solveig. Today, after a month of isolation, he feels strong enough to pay her a visit.

Directed by Stian Eide Fredriksen of the Westerdals School of Communication in Oslo, “A Hand To Hold” is a poignant film on what we come to appreciate in old age.

Edit: ‘Free of the Week’ is now ‘Short of the Week’.