A lonely figure tempting fate, surrendering himself open to the forces of nature in northern Finland. Guido van der Werve appears in the film as a typical hero of the Romantic era, walking ten metres in front of a huge icebreaker, stoically persisting – his eyes on a distant horizon – as the ice cracks beneath his feet.
Van der Werve often plays the lead in his films. ‘Number eight’ is one of his ‘numbered works’ from 2003 – 2015.