Een mens was te veel

Summary

Dramatised propaganda film for Christian medical care.

Young Nora suffers from an unspecified disease and is languishing away. Help arrives too late and she dies. The emphasis in the film, however, is on exposing abuses in a number of rest homes where money is more important than people. Next, the film shows that things can be different; there are also professional rest homes where the patient is the most important aspect.

The film was commissioned by the Christelijke Vereniging tot verpleging van behoeftige chronisch zieken ‘Het Zonnehuis’ (the Christian Association for the Nursing of the Destitute Chronically Ill). This agency had homes in Doorn, Schiedam and Beekbergen.

Hornecker’s film is remarkable for its modern, avant-garde style and its surprising and efficient staging. An example of this was the death of Nora, who lies on a stretcher next to a railway and is released from her plight by a man who says he is not God but God’s servant, and offers her a cup of coffee.