Talking Hands of Travancore

"Who are you? Who am I? What does this world mean? What effort must be made to preserve it?"

1981 0h 9m RU

🤯

9.0

MASTERPIECE

★9.0TMDB · 2

Animation

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Many centuries ago, on the southwest coast of India, in Travancore, the art of kathakali dance arose, the most important place in which gestures occupy.

“Who are you? Who am I? What does this world mean? What effort must be made to preserve it?”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Cast

Innokentiy Smoktunovskiy
Narrator (voice)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Vladimir Pekar
Writers: M. Rodionov, Lyudmila Biryukova, Nikolay Mitrokhin
Languages: Russian
Countries: Soviet Union, Russia

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Tight 9-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

45 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Soviet Union, Russia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Vladimir Pekar, shot by Kabul Rasulov. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Eduard Artemyev. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Nataliya Stepantseva shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Who are you? Who am I? What does this world mean? What effort must be made to preserve it?".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Vladimir Pekar directs. Kabul Rasulov behind the camera. Eduard Artemyev scores. Nataliya Stepantseva cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Soviet Union, Russia. Dialogue in Russian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Tight 9-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
245 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3International production across 2 countries: Soviet Union, Russia.
4Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
5Directed by Vladimir Pekar, shot by Kabul Rasulov. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Eduard Artemyev. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Nataliya Stepantseva shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Marketing tagline: "Who are you? Who am I? What does this world mean? What effort must be made to preserve it?".
9IMDB entry: tt33051763 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Only 2 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
11Classified under 10 themes, including "hindu", "india", "hindu mythology", "hindu god".