Although video, like photography and film, has an inseparable link with reality, the question remains whether the extent to which reality is presented also has a relationship with the medium. Stalking Mr. Holding (either a very personal video document based on a true story, or a fictional narrative that cleverly plays along with the credibility of the story) opens this question to discussion. The power of the camera to play with and to manipulate reality is shown here; this does not need modern digital image techniques. In an apparently documentary style, the viewer witnesses a declaration of love. In a radio programme, a man requests the song Unchained Melody by the Righteous Brothers and dedicates it to Mr. Tony Holding who, at that moment, is at home, celebrating his birthday. Before and after the love song, the man rings Mr. Holding from his car which is surreptitiously parked in front of the house, but he says nothing. During the love song we see video shots of old diary entries which reveal the fostered love, and apparently authentic film fragments from the time that the man, then still a boy, was taught by Mr. Holding. Haines creates the impression that a sensitive truth is being told, but confuses the viewer by balancing what is shown between fiction and reality. Is this truth or a fantasy? The viewer is left behind, perplexed.
– Marieke van Hal
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Editing David Haines, K. Murphy, A.P. Komen
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