Hands On a Hard Body

Twenty-four people congregate at a Longview car dealership with the same goal: winning a new, option-packed Nissan Hardbody pickup. To do so, they must keep their hands constantly on the vehicle, minus brief scheduled breaks, until all their competitors drop out from pain or fatigue. A bunch of people standing around for nearly four days may not sound like the most compelling subject matter for a documentary, but S.R. Bindler's masterful film easily kept a packed Texas Union audience riveted (and laughing hysterically) for a full 96 minutes. By letting the contestants tell their own stories before and during the event, Bindler transcended its inherent visual monotony with a steady focus on personalities.