Surogat (Ersatz) VS The Hand

During our Context of Practice lecture, we had the opportunity to see two completely different and yet in some way similar animations. Both had depth in terms of idea and subjects explored, but the techniques used in them were unique and different. The first one was Surogat (Ersatz) by Dusan Vukotic and Zagreb film. It's an award wining 1961 animated short film.

It has a comedic and lighthearted nature that brings a certain amount of charisma and theatricality to the table. In terms of style, Surogat is pretty hard edged and geometrically abstract and it is traditionally animated. Basically, Surogat is about a man who takes a trip to the beach an inflates everything, from a beach ball to even a person. It might not be apparent at first, but the film grasps a deeper social issue. Apart from the obvious sexist issues (the inflatable woman owned by the main protagonist) it implies that everything surrounding the main character is not real, it's just inflated. I suppose it means that people at the time tended to escape the reality  by creating their own inflatable worlds rather then facing the reality. 

The second one- The Hand by Jiri Trinka. It is from the same period but completely opposite from Surogat in its approach. Technique wise it is stop motion, puppet  animation. The character and overall design gives a bit of "creepy vibe" but its pretty clear on the message behind all of it. The film is about a potter who is forced to make artwork for the all-mighty hand. Where I'm from, this subject is really relevant and widely explored, probably because of the history of Eastern Europe. The oppression of Soviet Union has imprinted a really significant direction of art in most Eastern European countries, otherwise known as Soviet Nonconformism. It's true that most talented artists in Soviet Union were either forced to worship the government or their work would be censored or even destroyed. This actually reminds me of a Lithuania poet Salomeja Neris who was famous for her genuine, delicate and emotional poems, that all of a sudden turned into pro-communist and war worshiping motifs. It is only when Lithuania got its independence that her original handwritings were published revealing her emotional crisis for turning her back on her beliefs and native land. The same happens in The Hand- the potter suffers and feels as if he were a sell out and dies, without anyone ever knowing about his inner pain.

In a nutshell both movies explore deep social issues, but their approaches to the problems are like day and night- one is humorouse and light hearted and the other one is emotional and even disturbing at some level. I personally prefer The Hand because it is more raw and has more emotional depth. It provides a meaningful experience through the movie and leaves a mental image in your head of a quite a while.