The Touch of the Master’s Hand (Short)
**Seen at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival.
There’s a part of me that would be very curious to show “The Touch of the Master’s Hand” to my wife’s family, which is Mormon. I think the response might be split, and I would understand that; for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, self-abuse is not something to be taken lightly. But really, while the film is obstinately a comedy, writer-director Gregory Barnes takes the subject seriously, which makes the humor, when it lands, so effective. If you are part of the Church, though, and it isn’t quite for you, I’d get it.
Elder Hyde (Samuel Sylvester) is on a mission in Mexico. He is preparing to meet President Packard (Samuel Whitehill), but he is anxious. He has something that has been burdening his mind. Just before, during a team building exercise, he falls and chips a tooth, which feels like a sign of his mindset. When he gets into the room with President Packard, he is able to answer all of the President’s question, but still feels uneasy. Before he leaves the room, he unburdens himself. The President’s reaction is befitting a man of God, who is understanding and wants to help Elder Hyde.
The way that Barnes builds the film, which is largely in Spanish, to its conclusion is honest and very funny when it means to be. It’s good natured ribbing, not at the faith, but at the situation Elder Hyde finds himself in, and why he is in it. Part of it is human failings; part of it is, well, you kind of have to see it for yourself. Whether you’re a member of the Church or not, though, I think you’ll find the actions taken at the end of the film as necessary to take, however. In that way, the film is surprisingly universal.
The Touch of the Master's Hand Teaser from Gregory Barnes on Vimeo.
