A Happy Hand

By alternating documentary with fiction a portrait is drawn of Peter van Straaten eminent draughtsman of political cartoons the longterm Parool serial Agnes and a countless series of painfully comical sketches of everyday life Interviews with Van Straaten outside at home and at work smoothly merge with dramatised excerpts from Agnes played by people like Renée Fokker Pierre Bokma and Hans Kesting Thats me dressed up as a woman he says about this creation The camera peeks over his shoulder when Van Straaten makes his blackandwhite drawings with pen and ink His humour is harsh he draws people in all their spinelessness sadness and dishonesty with a remarkable eye to facial expressions and postures Through his drawings and stories he also talks about his personal experiences with alcohol relationships family health and sex and his lifelong love for birds in the open field