The Hand and Surogat compare and contrast

Below are two very different films from a similar time period, both European films named the hand(ruka) by Jiri Trnka ane Surogat by Dusan vukotic.


The hand - (1965) - (Jiri Trnka) from Roberto Pernas on Vimeo.

The hand was the last piece of work this artist produced and the one he considered his greatest work. It is a stop motion animation about a sculpter who is passionate about his pot making, who is meant to represent freedom of art who is visited by the hand. The hand tries to get the potter to sculpt a statue of the hand, trying to persuade him with gifts and money at first, before taking away all the potters freedom in order to get what he wants. its a beautiful animation full of meaning, representing how the czechoslovak communist state at the time limited what an artist could create and took away artistic freedom.

This animation is often seen more as a protest by Jiri Trnka, as it was something he felt very strongly about. even at the end of the animation, when he tries to break free, trying to save and be with what he loves once more. The potted plant ends up killing him which is meant to show suicide on his part for his art, but yet how even after he was gone the state took control of his funeral.

This animation is very personal to him and his political beliefs being a very risky thing to do at the time it was released.




The second animation i am looking at. was done very differently and more for entertainment purposes. Although the style used at the time was very out there, breaking a lot of classic rules and styles of animation used previously, mostly due to the influence of Disney's very different, realistic stylings. The animation is about a little man going to the beach, but everything he wants is so easy to get, he just blows them up, with no effort or let out the air if he no longer desires it. As the animation goes on you realise its not all its cracked up to be and ends up exploding himself at the end showing if its that easy to get, its that easy to be taken away also. I feel it represents greed, showing a very lavish life style but with no effort. It is also very funny which straight away is a very different feel to the animation previous.


Both pieces are a trying to show artistic freedom and there own independent styles but in different ways. The fist political and the second more for entertainment, yet both on something the animator feels strongly about, and there own freedom of expression. The animation style is also very different, the hand is a mixture between live action and stop motion, where as the second is 2D with the use of very vibrant colours. They both tell a story and a life lesson to an extent. They are both also European films, with Jiri Trnka being czech and Dusan Vukotic Croatian. It also shows how there countries considered art and style at the time, with Surogat being more free showing there was more freedom at the time when it came to art. It was also shown across the world, even winning an american academy award.

Although the hand would likely not have made it to western audiences at the time, because of the lack of dialog and use of symbolism, the films are both universally understood.