The striking quality of Kanalen en Windmolens is simply its beauty. This short documentary atmospherically presents typical Dutch phenomena – windmills, sailboats, canals, and the Dutch skies. By using a low camera angle and lots of backlighting, the windmills and sailboats take on a timeless character. But the camera work is not the only extraordinary thing: during post-production in the film laboratory, multiple exposures were used to create multi-perspective tableaus. In these short sequences you will find a feeling for aesthetic values in combination with technical craftmanship which is unquestionably sublime. Just watch and wonder what was possible for dedicated filmmakers a hundred years ago.

Karl Wratschko