Animation &Frame Grabs &Trnka 03 Jan 2011 08:20 am
The Hand
- I decided this week, I wouldn’t go to a Disney cartoon to give a frame grab display. Instead, I’ve chosen to showcase images from Jiri Trnka‘s brilliant film, THE HAND. This is an anti-totalitarian film done from behind the Iron Curtain when it was forbidden for him to do so. There, presumably, were consequences (though I don’t know any specifics.)
1The film’s title plays in four different languages.
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We see inside the sculpter’s house. LS to . . .
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. . . closer shot of him in bed.
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His pots and workplace.
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One plant in a pot in the window.
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He gets up, exercises and . . .
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. . . cares for his plant.
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He says a formal good morning to his plant.
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Then it’s down to work.
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Creating pottery.
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A loud knock – is it the door?
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Or the window?
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A giant hand bursts through the window knocking the plant to the ground.
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The potter goes through the same formality of bowing, good morning, to the hand.
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The hand tells the potter he wants a commissioned statue of himself.
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The potter says “NO” many times.
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Even rushing to get back to creating a new pot.
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Then he pushes the hand out of the shop . . .
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. . . and he attends to the damaged plant.
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The hand is back again and the potter tries to keep him out.
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The hand pushes in a cardboard box.
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The hand bursts out and impatiently demands a statue of himself.
The potter pulls out a broom.
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He uses the broom to push the hand out the door.
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A phone rings in the crardboard box, and the potter answers it.
The phone demands the statue . . .
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. . . and offers lots of money.
The potter throws the phone away.
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And goes back to his bed.
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He dreams of flowers until he’s awakened.
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The hand has brought a tv.
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We see many examples of great hands in history.
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Again the hand implores and then demands the statue.
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The sculptor drags a heavy mallet out from under the bed.
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He swings it at the hand to get rid of him.
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The hand goes into the box.
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The sculptor pushes the box and the tv out the door.
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In no time the hand is back . . . demanding.
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The sculptor stands resistant.
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He’s pushed back into a corner.
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The hand grabs him by the head.
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And he is dragged to the potter’s wheel.
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The hand produces cord.
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He makes a marionette of the potter.
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The potter’s encaged and forced to sculpt the statue.
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He’s forced to work endless days and nights sculpting.
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Until, finally, the statue is completed.
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The sculptor uses the statue to crash through the bars of the cage.
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He jumps free of the bondage of the “State.”
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Eventually, damaged, he makes his way back home.
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He boards up the door and window.
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He cares for the hurt plant.
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And places it in a secure spot out of reach.
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The sculptor is haunted by the sound of the hand.
He dies.
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The hand enters, places him in a casket he makes of the cabinet.
(Thus destroying the plant.)
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The hand salutes the sculptor.
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The end.
on 03 Jan 2011 at 4:36 pm 1.saul said …
That’s a high concept short film. The theme is still very current around the world. Trnka is a timeless stop-frame master.
Nice film breakdown, Michael!! Very inspiring and very effective screenwriting. I love the books Trnka illustrated too. If you have some of them… nice characters, nice style, nice storytelling… please post them!! Thanks again Michael!!
on 03 Jan 2011 at 6:21 pm 2.Sat said …
Makes me wish someone would care to release DVDs of Trnka’s films… including A Midsummer Night’s Dream in cinemascope, no less.
on 03 Jan 2011 at 7:03 pm 3.Michael said …
Saul, if you click on TRNKA under the categories to the right, you’ll find I’ve had 14 posts about Trnka and his work.
The illustrations to his Arabian Nights can be found here.
The illustrations to his Grimm Fairy Tales can be found here.
on 04 Jan 2011 at 7:21 am 4.Stephen Macquignon said …
Here is a link to see it
http://vlog.seksuroba.com/?p=13
on 19 Feb 2011 at 11:50 pm 5.Jeffrey said …
I love this film. I often use it in high school English and Social Studies classes for multiple purposes. The students tend to respond more positively to this than they do to many other films I use in class.