Onvoltooid tegenwoordig

When Johan van der Keuken passed away in January 2001 at the age of 62, he left behind the unfinished first part of a new full-length documentary. The second part of the intended triptych was to be filmed in Spain on the basis of the biblical Song of Songs; the third episode was planned as a long kiss, staged in a Parisian subway train. The nine minutes Van der Keuken left behind strike the eye because of the unusual editing, which according to co-editor Menno Boerema can be called final for 75 percent. In rapid succession, images of friends and acquaintances like Heddy Honigmann, Walter Salles and Frans van der Staak are rhythmically cross-edited. For the most part, only a single word or phrase is heard; Van der Keuken described the parts as `the barest word, the slightest cry, hesitation, a smile, a nervous twitch, a sigh'.