Hedging (1942)

This makes for quite an interesting ten minutes that might make you look at the hedges you walk past on your country walk a bit differently next time. It does matter how tall or short they are: too short and dense and the sunshine can't penetrate; too high and the lower parts thin out negating the value of this thing altogether. In many ways it's artistic to watch the hedge man (and his women's land army buddy) as he chops, cuts, weaves and layers the branches whilst removing the dead wood and brambles. By the conclusion, after the hazel or willow binding, it all looks completely natural and will serve to keep things in (and out) for the next twenty years with the thorns proving more effective than barbed wire ever could. The narration is a little dryly descriptive, but I wonder if it's a dying art we are watching here?